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"  His  peculiar  merit  is  that  he  has  reproduced  familiar  forms  of 
life  in  phases  which  we  have  all  seen,  but  which  no  one  has  ever 
before  painted;  that  he  has  caught  the  gleam  of  poetic  light  which 
irradiates  at  moments  common  and  vulgar  scenes,  and  detected 
elements  of  beauty  which  lurk  beneath  the  coarser  features  of 
American  life,  —  beauty  which  we  have  felt  a  hundred  times,  but 
never  learned  to  express  in  words."  —  A'ew  York  Tribune. 


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PUBLISHERS,  BOSTOX. 


SHE    RAISED    HER    RIDING-WHIP. 


THANKFUL  BLOSSOM 

A    ROMANCE    OF  THE   JERSEYS 
1779 

BY    BRET    HARTE 


BOSTON 
JAMES    R.    OSGOOD    AND    COMPANY 

(Late  Ticknor  &  Fields,  and  Fields,  Osgood,  &  Co.) 
I877 


COPYRIGHT,  1876, 
BY  THE  SUN  PRINTING  AND  PUBLISHING  ASSOCIATION. 


Stereotyped  and  Printed  by  Rand,  Avery,  &>  Co 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE. 

PART  I.         . n 

PART  II 35 

PART  III .        .69 

PART  IV I2r 

PART  V I55 


LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS. 

DRAWN    BY   C.    S.    REINHART. 

PAGE. 
"BUT   WHY   DID   YOU    TAKE    THAT    LlGHT    FROM 

THE  WINDOW  ? " 19 

THANKFUL  DROPPED  THE  COURTESY  OF  THE 

PERIOD 43 

SHE  RAISED  HER  RlDING-WHIP  .  .  .  .63 
A  FIGURE  WAS  SLOWLY  APPROACHING  .  no 


PART  I. 


THANKFUL    BLOSSOM. 


THE  time  was  the  year  of  grace  1779; 
the  locality,  Morristown,  New  Jersey. 
It  was  bitterly  cold.  A  north-easterly  wind 
had  been  stiffening  the  mud  of  the  morning's 
thaw  into  a  rigid  record  of  that  day's  wayfar 
ing  on  the  Baskingridge  road.  The  hoof- 
prints  of  cavalry,  the  deep  ruts  left  by  bag 
gage-wagons,  and  the  deeper  channels  worn 
by  artillery,  lay  stark  and  cold  in  the  waning 
light  of  an  April  day.  There  were  icicles  on 
the  fences,  a  rime  of  silver  on  the  windward 
bark  of  maples,  and  occasional  bare  spots  on 
the  rocky  protuberances  of  the  road,  as  if 


THANKFUL  BLOSSOM. 


Nature  had  worn  herself  out  at  the  knees  and 
elbows  through  long  waiting  for  the  tardy 
spring.  A  few  leaves  disinterred  by  the 
thaw  became  crisp  again,  and  rustled  in  the 
wind,  making  the  summer  a  thing  so  remote 
that  all  human  hope  and  conjecture  fled 
before  them. 

Here  and  there  the  wayside  fences  and 
walls  were  broken  down  or  dismantled  ;  and 
beyond  them  fields  of  snow  down-trodden 
and  discolored,  and  strewn  with  fragments 
of  leather,  camp  equipage,  harness,  and  cast- 
off  clothing,  showed  traces  of  the  recent 
encampment  and  congregation  of  men.  On 
some  there  were  still  standing  the  ruins  of 
rudely  constructed  cabins,  or  the  semblance 
of  fortification  equally  rude  and  incomplete. 
A  fox  stealing  along  a  half-filled  ditch,  a  wolf 
slinking  behind  an  earthwork,  typified  the 
human  abandonment  and  desolation. 


THANKFUL   BLOSSOM.  13 

One  by  one  the  faint  sunset  tints  faded 
from  the  sky ;  the  far-off  crests  of  the  Orange 
hills  grew  darker;  the  nearer  files  of  pines 
on  the  Whatnong  Mountain  became  a  mere 
black  background  ;  and,  with  the  coming-on 
of  night,  came  too  an  icy  silence  that 
seemed  to  stiffen  and  arrest  the  very  wind 
itself.  The  crisp  leaves  no  longer  rustled ; 
the  waving  whips  of  alder  and  willow  snapped 
no  longer;  the  icicles  no  longer  diopped  a 
cold  fruitage  from  barren  branch  and  spray ; 
and  the  roadside  trees  relapsed  into  stony 
quiet,  so  that  the  sound  of  horses'  hoofs 
breaking  through  the  thin,  dull,  lustreless 
films  of  ice  that  patched  the  furrowed  road, 
might  have  been  heard  by  the  nearest  Conti 
nental  picket  a  mile  away. 

Either  a  knowledge  of  this,  or  the  difficul 
ties  of  the  road,  evidently  irritated  the  view 
less  horseman.  Long  before  he  became 


14  THANKFUL  BLOSSOM. 

visible,  his  voice  was  heard  in  half-suppressed 
objurgation  of  the  road,  of  his  beast,  of  the 
country  folk,  and  the  country  generally. 
"Steady,  you  jade!"  "Jump,  you  devil, 
jump  !  "  "  Curse  the  road,  and  the  beggarly 
farmers  that  durst  not  mend  it!"  And  then 
the  moving  bulk  of  horse  and  rider  suddenly 
arose  above  the*  hill,  floundered  and  splashed, 
and  then  as  suddenly  disappeared,  and  the 
rattling  hoof-beats  ceased. 

The  stranger  had  turned  into  a  deserted 
lane  still  cushioned  with  untrodden  snow.  A 
stone  wall  on  one  hand  —  in  better  keeping 
and  condition  than  the  boundary  monuments 
of  the  outlying  fields  —  bespoke  protection 
and  exclusiveness.  Half-way  up  the  lane  the 
rider  checked  his  speed,  and,  dismounting,  tied 
'his  horse  to  a  wayside  sapling.  This  done, 
he  went  cautiously  forward  toward  the  end  of 
the  lane,  and  a  farm-house  from  whose  gable 


THANKFUL  BLOSSOM. 


window  a  light  twinkled  through  the  deep 
ening  night.  Suddenly  he  stopped,  hesitated, 
and  uttered  an  impatient  ejaculation.  The 
light  had  disappeared.  He  turned  sharply  on 
his  heel,  and  retraced  his  steps  until  opposite 
a  farm-shed  that  stood  a  few  paces  from  the 
wall.  Hard  by,  a  large  elm  cast  the  gaunt 
shadow  of  its  leafless  limbs  on  the  wall  and 
surrounding  snow.  The  stranger  stepped 
into  this  shadow,  and  at  once  seemed  to 
become  a  part  of  its  trembling  intricacies. 

At  the  present  moment  it  was  certainly  a 
bleak  place  for  a  tryst.  There  was  snow  yet 
clinging  to  the  trunk  of  the  tree,  and  a  film 
of  ice  on  its  bark  ;  the  adjacent  wall  was 
slippery  with  frost,  and  fringed  with  icicles. 
Yet  in  all  there  was  a  ludicrous  suggestion 
of  some  sentiment  past  and  unseasonable : 
several  dislodged  stones  of  the  wall  were  so 
disposed  as  to  form  a  bench  and  seats,  and 


1 6  THANKFUL  BLOSSOM. 

under  the  elm-tree's  film  of  ice  could  still  te 
seen  carved  on  its  bark  the  effigy  of  a  heart, 
divers  initials,  and  the  legend,  "  Thine  For 
ever." 

The  stranger,  however,  kept  his  eyes  fixed 
only  on  the  farm-shed  and  the  open  field 
beside  it.  Five  minutes  passed  in  fruitless 
expectancy.  Ten  minutes !  And  then  the 
rising  moon  slowly  lifted  herself  over  the 
black  range  of  the  Orange  hills,  and  looked 
at  him,  blushing  a  little,  as  if  the  appointment 
were  her  own. 

The  face  and  figure  thus  illuminated  were 
those  of  a  strongly  built,  handsome  man  of 
thirty,  so  soldierly  in  bearing  that  it  needed 
not  the  buff  epaulets  and  facings  to  show  his 
captain's  rank  in  the  Continental  army.  Yet 
there  was  something  in  his  facial  expression 
that  contradicted  the  manliness  of  his  pres 
ence,  —  an  irritation  and  querulousness  that 


THANKFUL  BLOSSOM.  I/ 

were  inconsistent  with  his  size  and  strength. 
This  fretfulness  increased  as  the  moments 
went  by  without  sign  or  motion  in  the  faintly 
lit  field  beyond,  until,  in  peevish  exasperation, 
he  began  to  kick  the  nearer  stones  against 
the  wall. 

"  Moo-oo-w ! " 

The  soldier  started.  Not  that  he  was 
frightened,  nor  that  he  had  failed  to  recognize 
in  these  prolonged  syllables  the  deep-chested, 
half-drowsy  low  of  a  cow,  but  that  it  was  so 
near  him  —  evidently  just  beside  the  wall,  If 
an  object  so  bulky  could  have  approached 
him  so  near  without  his  knowledge,  might  not 
she  — 

"  Moo-oo  ! " 

He  drew  nearer  the  wall  cautiously.  "  So, 
Cushy  !  Mooly  !  Come  up,  Bossy  !  "  he  said 
persuasively.  "  Moo "  -  but  here  the  low 
unexpectedly  broke  down,  and  ended  in 


1 8  THANKFUL  BLOSSOM. 

a  very  human  and  rather  musical  little 
laugh. 

"  Thankful !  "  exclaimed  the  soldier,  t  echo 
ing  the  laugh  a  trifle  uneasily  and  affectedly 
as  a  hooded  little  head  arose  above  the 
wall. 

"  Well,"  replied  the  figure,  supporting  a 
prettily  rounded  chin  on  her  hands,  as  she 
laid  her  elbows  complacently  on  the  wall, 
— "  well,  what  did  you  expect  ?  Did  you 
want  me  to  stand  here  all  night,  while  you 
skulked  moonstruck  under  a  tree  ?  Or  did 
you  look  for  me  to  call  you  by  name  ?  did  you 
expect  me  to  shout  out,  '  Capt.  Allan  Brew- 
ster '  "— 

"  Thankful,  hush  !  " 

"  Capt.  Allan  Brewster  of  the  Connecticut 
Contingent,"  continued  the  girl,  with  an 
affected  raising  of  a  low,  pathetic  voice  that 
was,  however,  inaudible  beyond  the  tree. 


BUT   WHY    DID    YOU    TAKE    THAT    LIGHT    FROM    THE   WINDOW 


THANKFUL  BLOSSOM.  19 

•"  Capt.  Brewster,  behold  me,  —  your  obleeged 
and  humble  servant  and  sweetheart  to  com 
mand." 

Capt.  Brewster  succeeded,  after  a  slight 
skirmish  at  the  wall,  in  possessing  himself 
of  the  girl's  hand  ;  at  which,  although  still 
struggling,  she  relented  slightly. 

"  It  isn't  every  lad  that  I'd  low  for,"  she 
said,  with  an  affected  pout,  "  and  there  may 
be  others  that  would  not  take  it  amiss ; 
though  there  be  fine  ladies  enough  at  the 
assembly  balls  at  Morristown  as  might  think 
it  hoydenish  ? " 

"  Nonsense,  love,"  said  the  captain,'  who 
had  by  this  time  mounted  the  wall,  and 
encircled  the  girl's  waist  with  his  arm. 
"  Nonsense  !  you  startled  me  only.  But,"  he 
added,  suddenly  taking  her  round  chin  in  his 
hand,  and  turning  her  face  toward  the  moon 
with  an  uneasy  half-suspicion,  "  why  did  you 


2O  THANKFUL  BLOSSOM. 

take  that  light  from  the  window?  What 
has  happened  ?  " 

"We  had  unexpected  guests,  sweetheart," 
said  Thankful :  "  the  count  just  arrived." 

"  That  infernal  Hessian !  "  He  stopped, 
and  gazed  questioningly  into  her  face.  The 
moon  looked  upon  her  at  the  same  time  : 
the  face  was  as  sweet,  as  placid,  as  truthful, 
as  her  own.  Possibly  these  two  inconstants 
understood  each  other. 

"  Nay,  Allan,  he  is  not  a  Hessian,  b.ut  an 
exiled  gentleman  from  abroad,  —  a  noble 
man  "  — 

"  There  are  no  noblemen  now,"  sniffed  the 
trooper  contemptuously.  "  Congress  has  so 
decreed  it.  All  men  are  born  free  and 
equal." 

"  But  they  are  not,  Allan,"  said  Thankful, 
with  a  pretty  trouble  in  her  brows :  "  even 
cows  are  not  born  equal.  Is  yon  calf  that 


THANKFUL  BLOSSOM.  21 

was  dropped  last  night  by  Brindle  the  equal 
of  my  red  heifer  whose  mother  came  by  her 
self  in  a  ship  from  Surrey  ?  Do  they  look 
equal?" 

"Titles  are  but  breath,"  said  Capt.  Brevv- 
ster  doggedly.  There  was  an  ominous 
pause. 

"  Nay,  there  is  one  nobleman  left,"  said 
Thankful ;  "  and  he  is  my  own,  —  my  nature's 
nobleman !  " 

Capt.  Brewster  did  not  reply.  From  cer 
tain  arch  gestures  and  wreathed  smiles  with 
which  this  forward  young  woman  accom 
panied  her  statement,  it  would  seem  to  be 
implied  that  the  gentleman  who  stood  before 
her  was  the  nobleman  alluded  to.  At  least, 
he  so  accepted  it,  and  embraced  her  closely, 
her  arms  and  part  of  her  mantle  clinging 
around  his  neck.  In  this  attitude  they  re 
mained  quiet  for  some  moments,  slightly 


THANKFUL  BLOSSOM. 


rocking  from  side  to  side  like  a  metronome  ; 
a  movement,  I  fancy,  peculiarly  bucolic,  pas 
toral,  and  idyllic,  and  as  such,  I  wot,  observed 
by  Theocritus  and  Virgil. 

At  these  supreme  moments  weak  woman 
usually  keeps  her  wits  about  her  much  better 
than  your  superior  reasoning  masculine  ani 
mal;  and,  while  the  gallant  captain  was  losing 
himself  upon  her  perfect  lips,  Miss  Thankful 
distinctly  heard  the  farm-gate  click,  and 
otherwise  noticed  that  the  moon  was  getting 
high  and  obtrusive.  She  half  released  her 
self  from  the  captain's  arms,  thoughtfully  and 
tenderly  —  but  firmly.  "  Tell  me  all  about 
yourself,  Allan  dear,"  she  said  quietly,  mak 
ing  room  for  him  on  the  wall,  —  "  all,  every 
thing." 

She  turned  upon  him  her  beautiful  eyes, — 
eyes  habitually  earnest  and  even  grave  in 
expression,  yet  holding  in  their  brave  brown 


THANKFUL  BLOSSOM.  2$ 


depths  a  sweet,  childlike  reliance  and  depen 
dency;  eyes  with  a  certain  tender,  deprecat 
ing  droop  in  the  brown-fringed  lids,  and  yet 
eyes  that  seemed  to  say  to  every  man  who 
looked  upon  them,  "  I  am  truthful :  be  frank 
with  me."  Indeed,  I  am  convinced  there  is 
not  one  of  my  impressible  sex,  who,  looking 
in  those  pleading  eyes,  would  not  have  per 
jured  himself  on  the  spot  rather  than  have 
disappointed  their  fair  owner. 

Capt.  Brewster's  mouth  resumed  its  old 
expression  of  discontent 

"  Every  thing  is  growing  worse,  Thankful, 
and  the  cause  is  lost.  Congress  does  nothing, 
and  Washington  is  not  the  man  for  the  crisis. 
Instead  of  marching  to  Philadelphia,  and  for 
cing  that  wretched  rabble  of  Hancock  and 
Adams  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet,  he  writes 
letters." 

"  A  dignified,  formal  old  fool,"  interrupted 


24  THANKFUL  BLOSSOM. 


Mistress  Thankful  indignantly ;  "  and  look  at 
his  wife  !  Didn't  Mistress  Ford  and  Mistress 
Baily,  ay,  and  the  best  blood  of  Morris 
County,  go  down  to  his  Excellency's  in  their 
finest  bibs  and  tuckers,  and  didn't  they  find 
my  lady  in  a  pinafore  doing  chores  ?  Vastly 
polite  treatment,  indeed !  As  if  the  whole 
world  didn't  know  that  the  general  was  taken 
by  surprise  when  my  lady  came  riding  up 
from  Virginia  with  all  those  fine  cavaliers, 
just  to  see  what  his  Excellency  was  doing  at 
these  assembly  balls.  And  fine  doings,  I 
dare  say." 

"This  is  but  idle  gossip,  Thankful,"  said 
Capt.  Brewster  with  the  faintest  appearance 
of  self-consciousness  ;  "  the  assembly  balls  are 
conceived  by  the  general  to  strengthen  the 
confidence  of  the  townsfolk,  and  mitigate  the 
rigors  of  the  winter  encampment.  I  go  there 
myself  rarely :  I  have  but  little  taste  for 


THANKFUL  BLOSSOM.  2$ 


junketing  and  gavotting,  with  my  country 
in  such  need.  No,  Thankful !  What  we 
want  is  a  leader ;  and  the  men  of  Connecti 
cut  feel  it  keenly.  If  I  have  been  spoken 
of  in  that  regard,"  added  the  captain  with  a 
slight  inflation  of  his  manly  breast,  "  it  is 
because  they  know  of  my  sacrifices,  —  because 
as  New  England  yeomen  they  know  my  de 
votion  to  the  cause.  They  know  of  my  suf 
fering  "  — 

The  bright  face  that  looked  into  his  was 
suddenly  afire  with  womanly  sympathy,  the 
pretty  brow  was  knit,  the  sweet  eyes  over 
flowed  with  tenderness.  "  Forgive  me,  Allan. 
I  forgot  —  perhaps,  love  —  perhaps,  dearest, 
you  are  hungry  now." 

"  No,  not  now,"  replied  Capt.  Brewster, 
with  gloomy  stoicism  ;  "yet,"  he  added,  "it  is 
nearly  a  week  since  I  have  tasted  meat." 

"I  —  I — brought  a  few  things  with  me," 


26  THANKFUL  BLOSSOM. 

continued  the  girl,  with  a  certain  hesitating 
timidity.  She  reached  down,  and  produced  a 
basket  from  the  shadow  of  the  wall.  "  These 
chickens  "  —  she  held  up  a  pair  of  pullets  — 
"  the  commander-in-chief  himself  could  not 
buy  :  I  kept  them  for  my  commander  !  And 
this  pot  of  marmalade,  which  I  know  my 
Allan  loves,  is  the  same  I  put  up  last  sum 
mer.  I  thought  [very  tenderly]  you  might 
like  a  piece  of  that  bacon  you  liked  so  once, 
dear.  Ah,  sweetheart,  shall  we  ever  sit  down 
to  our  little  board  ?  Shall  we  ever  see  the 
end  of  this  awful  war?  Don't  you  think, 
dear  [very  pleadingly],  it  would  be  best  to 
give  it  up  ?  King  George  is  not  such  a  very 
bad  man,  is  he  ?  I've  thought,  sweetheart 
[very  confidently],  that  mayhap  you  and  he 
might  make  it  all  up  without  the  aid  of  those 
Washingtons,  who  do-nothing  but  starve  one 
to  death.  And  if  the  king  only  knew  you, 


THANKFUL  BLOSSOM.  2J 

Allan,  —  should  see  you  as  I  do,  sweetheart, 
—  he'd  do  just  as  you  say." 

During  this  speech  she  handed  him  the 
several  articles  alluded  to;  and  he  received 
them,  storing  them  away  in  such  receptacles 
of  his  clothing  as  were  convenient  —  with 
this  notable  difference,  that  with  her  the  act 
was  graceful  and  picturesque  :  with  him  there 
was  a  ludicrousness  of  suggestion  that  his 
broad  shoulders  and  uniform  only  height 
ened. 

"  I  think  not  of  myself,  lass,"  he  said,  put 
ting  the  eggs  in  his  pocket,  and  buttoning  the 
chickens  within  his  martial  breast.  "  I  think 
not  of  myself,  and  perhaps  I  often  spare  that 
counsel  which  is  but  little  heeded.  But  I 
have  a  duty  to  my  men  —  to  Connecticut. 
[He  here  tied  the  marmalade  up  in  his  hand 
kerchief.]  I  confess  I  have  sometimes  thought 
I  might,  under  provocation,  be  driven  to  ex- 


28  THANKFUL   'BLOSSOM. 

treme  measures  for  the  good  of  the  cause.  I 
make  no  pretence  to  leadership,  but"  — 

"  With  you  at  the  head  of  the  army,"  broke 
in  Thankful  enthusiastically,  "  peace  would 
be  declared  within  a  fortnight." 

.There  is  no  flattery,  however  outrageous, 
that  a  man  will  not  accept  from  the  woman 
whom  he  believes  loves  him.  He  will  per 
haps  doubt  its  influence  in  the  colder  judg 
ment  of  mankind  ;  but  he  will  consider  that 
this  poor  creature,  at  least,  understands  him, 
and  in  some  vague  way  represents  the  eternal 
but  unrecognized  verities.  And  when  this  is 
voiced  by  lips  that  are  young  and  warm  and 
red,  it  is  somehow  quite  as  convincing  as  the 
bloodless,  remoter  utterance  of  posterity. 

Wherefore  the  trooper  complacently  but 
toned  the  compliment  over  his  chest  with  the 
pullets. 

"  I  think  you  must  go   now,  Allan,"   she 


THANKFUL  BLOSSOM.  2Q 

said,  looking  at  him  with  that  pseudo-mater 
nal  air  which  the  youngest  of  women  some 
times  assume  to  their  lovers,  as  if  the  doll 
had  suddenly  changed  sex,  and  grown  to  man's 
estate.  "You  must  go  now,  dear;  for  it  may 
so  chance  that  father  is  considering  my 
absence  overmuch.  You  will  come  again  a' 
Wednesday,  sweetheart ;  and  you  will  not  go 
to  the  assemblies,  nor  visit  Mistress  Judith, 
nor  take  any  girl  pick-a-back  again  on  your 
black  horse  ;  and  you  will  let  me  know  when 
you  are  hungry  ? " 

She  turned  her  brown  eyes  lovingly,  yet 
with  a  certain  pretty  trouble  in  the  brow, 
and  such  a  searching,  pleading  inquiry  in  her 
glance,  that  the  captain  kissed  her  at  once. 
Then  came  the  final  embrace,  performed  by 
the  captain  in  a  half-perfunctory,  quiet  man 
ner,  with  a  due  regard  for  the  friable  nature 
of  part  of  his  provisions.  Satisfying  himself 


3O  THANKFUL  BLOSSOM. 

of  the  integrity  of  the  eggs  by  feeling  for 
them  in  his  pocket,  he  waved  a  military  salute 
with  the  other  hand  to  Miss  Thankful,  and 
was  gone.  A  few  minutes  later  the  sound  of  his 
horse's  hoofs  rang  sharply  from  the  icy  hillside. 

But,  as  he  reached  the  summit,  two  horse 
men  wheeled  suddenly  from  the  shadow  of 
the  roadside,  and  bade  him  halt. 

"  Capt.  Brewster,  if  this  moon  does  not 
deceive  me  ? "  queried  the  foremost  stranger 
with  grave  civility. 

"  The  same.  Major  Van  Zandt,  I  calcu 
late  ?  "  returned  Brewster  querulously. 

"  Your  calculation  is  quite  right.  I  regret, 
Capt.  Brewster,  that  it  is  my  duty  to  inform 
you  that  you  are  under  arrest." 

"  By  whose  orders  ?  " 

"The  commander-in-chiefs." 

* 

"  For  what  ? " 

"  Mutinous  conduct,  and  disrespect  of  your 
superior  officers." 


THANKFUL  BLOSSOM. 


The  sword  that  Capt.  Brewster  had  drawn 
at  the  sudden  appearance  of  the  strangers 
quivered  for  a  moment  in  his  strong  hand. 
Then,  sharply  striking  it  across  the  pommel 
of  his  saddle,  he  snapped  it  in  twain,  and  cast 
the  pieces  at  the  feet  of  the  speaker. 

"  Go  on,"  he  said  doggedly. 

"  Capt.  Brewster,"  said  Major  Van  Zandt, 
with  infinite  gravity,  "  it  is  not  for  me  to 
point  out  the  danger  to  you  of  this  outspoken 
emotion,  except  practically  in  its  effect  upon 
the  rations  you  have  in  your  pocket.  If  I, 
mistake  not,  they  have  suffered  equally  with 
your  steel.  Forward,  march  !  " 

Capt.  Brewster  looked  down,  and  then 
dropped  to  the  rear,  as  the  diseased  yolks  of 
Mistress  Thankful's  most  precious  gift  slid 
slowly  and  pensively  over  his  horse's  flanks  to 
the  ground. 


PART  II. 


II. 


MISTRESS  THANKFUL  remained  at 
the  wall  until  her  lover  had  disap 
peared.  Then  she  turned,  a  mere  lissom 
shadow  in  that  uncertain  light,  and  glided 
under  the  eaves  of  the  shed,  and  thence  from 
tree  to  tree  of  the  orchard,  lingering  a  mo 
ment  under  each  as  a  trout  lingers  in  the 
shadow  of  the  bank  in  passing  a  shallow,  and 
so  reached  the  farm-house  and  the  kitchen 
door,  where  she  entered.  Thence  by  a  back 
staircase  she  slipped  to  her  own  bower,  from 
whose  window  half  an  hour  before  she  had 
taken  the  signalling  light.  This  she  lit  again, 
and  placed  upon  a  chest  of  drawers  ;  and, 
taking  off  her  hood  and  a  shapeless  sleeve- 

35 


36  THANKFUL  BLOSSOM. 

less  mantle  she  had  worn,  went  to  the  mirror, 
and  proceeded  to  re-adjust  a  high  horn  comb 
that  had  been  somewhat  displaced  by  the 
captain's  arm,  and  otherwise  after  the  fashion 
of  her  sex  to  remove  all  traces  of  a  previous 
lover.  It  may  be  here  ^observed  that  a  man 
is  very  apt  to  come  from  the  smallest  encoun 
ter  with  his  dulcinea  distrait,  bored,  or  shame 
faced  ;  to  forget  that  his  cravat  is  awry,  or  that 
a  long  blonde  hair  is  adhering  to  his  button. 
But  as  to  Mademoiselle  —  well,  looking  at 
Miss  Pussy's  sleek  paws  and  spotless  face, 
would  you  ever  know  that  she  had  been  at 
the  cream-jug  ? 

Thankful  was,  I  think,  satisfied  with  her 
appearance.  Small  doubt  but  she  had  reason 
for  it.  And  yet  her  gown  was  a  mere  slip  of 
flowered  chintz,  gathered  at  the  neck,  and 
falling  at  an  angle  of  fifteen  degrees  to  within 
an  inch  of  a  short  petticoat  of  gray  flannel. 


THANKFUL  BLOSSOM.  37 

But  so  surely  is  the  complete  mould  of  sym 
metry  indicated  in  the  poise  or  line  of  any 
single  member,  that  looking  at  the  erect 
carriage  of  her  graceful  brown  head,  or  below 
to  the  curves  that  were  lost  in  her  shapely 
ankles,  or  the  little  feet  that  hid  themselves 
in  the_ broad-buckled  shoes,  you  knew  that  the 
rest  was  as  genuine  and  beautiful. 

Mistress  Thankful,  after  a  pause,  opened 
the  door,  and  listened.  Then  she  softly 
slipped  down  the  back  staircase  to  the  front 
hall.  It  was  dark ;  but  the  door  of  the  "  com 
pany-room,"  or  parlor,  was  faintly  indicated 
by  the  light  that  streamed  beneath  it.  She 
stood  still  for  a  moment  hesitatingly,  when 
suddenly  a  hand  grasped  her  own,  and  half 
led,  half  dragged  her,  into  the  sitting-room 
opposite.  It  was  dark.  There  was  a  mo 
mentary  fumbling  for  the  tinder-box  and  flint, 
a  muttered  oath  over  one  or  two  impeding 


38  THANKFUL  BLOSSOM. 

articles  of  furniture,  and  Thankful  laughed. 
And  then  the  light  was  lit ;  and  her  father,  a 
gray  wrinkled  man  of  sixty,  still  holding  her 
hand,  stood  before  her. 

"  You  have  been  out,  mistress  !  " 

"  I  have,"  said  Thankful. 

"And  not  alone,"  growled  the  old  man 
angrily. 

"  No,"  said  Mistress  Thankful,  with  a  smile 
that  began  in  the  corners  of  her  brown  eyes, 
ran  down  into  the  dimpled  curves  of  her 
mouth,  and  finally  ended  in  the  sudden 
revelation  of  her  white  teeth,  — "  no,  not 
alone." 

"  With  whom  ?  "  asked  the  old  man,  gradu 
ally  weakening  under  her  strong,  saucy  pres 
ence. 

"  Well,  father,"  said  Thankful,  taking  a  seat 
on  a  table,  and  swinging  her  little  feet  some 
what  ostentatiously  toward  him,  "  I  was  with 


THANKFUL   BLOSSOM.  39 

Capt.  Allan  Brewster  of  the  Connecticut  Con 
tingent." 

"  That  man  ?  " 

"  That  man  !  " 

"  I  forbid  you  seeing  him  again." 

Thankful  gripped  the  table  with  a  hand  on 
each  side  of  her,  to  emphasize  the  statement, 
and  swinging  her  feet  replied,  — 

"  I  shall  see  him  as  often  as  I  like,  father." 

"  Thankful  Blossom  !  " 

"  Abner  Blossom!"" 

"  I  see  you  know  not,"  said  Mr.  Blossom, 
abandoning  the  severely  paternal  mandatory 
air  for  one  of  confidential  disclosure,  "  I  see 
you  know  not  his  reputation.  He  is  accused 
of  inciting  his  regiment  to  revolt, — of  being 
a  traitor  to  the  cause." 

"And  since  when,  Abner  Blossom,  have 
you  felt  such  concern  for  the  cause  ?  Since 
you  refused  to  sell  supplies  to  the  Continental 


40  THANKFUL  BLOSSOM. 

commissary,  except  at  double  profits  ?  since 
you  told  me  you  were  glad  I  had  not  politics 
like  Mistress  Ford  "  —  . 

"  Hush  !  "  said  her  father,  motioning  to  the 
parlor. 

"  Hush,"  echoed  Thankful  indignantly.  "  I 
won't  be  hushed!  Everybody  says  'Hush' 
to  me.  The  count  says  '  Hush  ! '  Allan  says 
'JHush  ! '  You  say  '  Hush  ! '  I'm  a-weary  of 
this  hushing.  Ah,  if  there  was  a  man  who 
didn't  say  it  to  me!"  and  Mistress  Thankful 
lifted  her  fine  eyes  to  the  ceiling. 

"  You  are  unwise,  Thankful,  —  foolish,  indis 
creet.  That  is  why  you  require  much  moni 
tion." 

Thankful  swung  her  feet  in  silence  for  a 
few  moments,  then  suddenly  leaped  from  the 
table,  and,  seizing  the  old  man  r>y  the  lapels 
of  his  coat,  fixed  her  eyes  upon  him,  and  said 
suspiciously,  "Why  did  you  keep  me  from 


THANKFUL  BLOSSOM.  4! 

going  in  the  company-room  ?     Why  did  you 
bring  me  in  here  ? " 

Blossom  senior  was  staggered  for  a  mo 
ment.  "  Because,  you  know,  the  count "  — 

"And  you  were  afraid  the  count  should 
know  I  had  a  sweetheart  ?  Well,  I'll  go  in 
and  tell  him  now,"  she  said,  marching  toward 
the  door. 

"  Then,  why  did  you  not  tell  him  when  youf 
slipped  out  an  hour  ago  ?  eh,  lass  ? "  quer 
ied  the  old  man,  grasping  her  hand.  <:  But 
'tis  all  one,  Thankful :  'twas  not  for  him  I 
stopped  you.  There  is  a  young  spark  with 
him,  —  ay,  came  even  as  you  left,  lass, —  a 
likely  young  gallant ;  and  he  and  the  count 
are  jabbering  away  in  their  own  lingo,  a  kind 
of  Italian,  belike  ;  eh,  Thankful  ?  " 

"  I  know  not,"  she  said  thoughtfully. 
"  Which  way  came  the  other  ?  "  In  fact, 
a  fear  that  this  young  stranger  might  have 


42  THANKFUL  BLOSSOM. 

witnessed  the  captain's  embrace  began  to 
creep  over  her. 

"From  town,  my  lass." 

Thankful  turned  to  her  father  as  if  she  had 
been  waiting  a  reply  to  a  long-asked  question  : 
"Well?" 

"  Were  it  not  well  to  put  on  a  few  furbe 
lows  and  a  tucker  ? "  queried  the  old  man. 
"  'Tis  a  gallant  young  spark ;  none  of  your 
country  folk." 

"  No,"  said  Thankful,  with  the  promptness 
of  a.  woman  who  was  looking  her  best,  and 
knew  it.  And  the  old  man,  looking  at  her, 
accepted  her  judgment,  and  without  another 
word  led  her  to  the  parlor  door,  and,  opening 
it,  said  briefly,  "My  daughter,  Mistress 
Thankful  Blossom." 

With  the  opening  of  the  door  came  the 
sound  of  earnest  voices  that  instantly  ceased 
upon  the  appearance  of  Mistress  Thankful. 


THANKFUL   DROPPED   THE   COURTESY   OF   THE    PERIOD. 


THANKFUL  BLOSSOM.  43 

Two  gentlemen  lolling  before  the  fire  arose 
instantly,  and  one  came  forward  with  an  air 
of  familiar  yet  respectful  recognition. 

"Nay,  this  is  far  too  great  happiness, 
Mistress  Thankful,"  he  said,  with  a  strongly 
marked  foreign  accent,  and  a  still  more 
strongly  marked  foreign  manner.  "  I  have 
been  in  despair,  and  my  friend  here,  the 
Baron  Pomposo,  likewise." 

The  slightest  trace  of  a  smile,  and  the 
swiftest  of  reproachful  glances,  lit  up  the 
dark  face  of  the  baron  as  he  bowed  low  in 
the  introduction.  Thankful  dropped  the 
courtesy  of  the  period,  —  i.e.,  a  duck,  with 
semicircular  sweep  of  the  right  foot  for 
ward.  But  the  right  foot  was  so  pretty, 
and  the  grace  of  the  little  figure  so  perfect, 
that  the  baron  raised  his  eyes  from  the  foot 
to  the  face  in  serious  admiration.  In  the 
one  rapid  feminine  glance  she  had  given 


44  THANKFUL  BLOSSOM. 

him,  she  had  seen  that  he  was  handsome ; 
in  the  second,  which  she  could  not  help 
from  his  protracted  silence,  she  saw  that  his 
beauty  centred  in  his  girlish,  half  fawn-like, 
dark  eyes. 

"  The  baron,"  explained  Mr.  Blossom,  rub 
bing  his  hands  together  as  if  through  mere 
friction  he  was  trying  to  impart  a  warmth  to 
the  reception  which  his  hard  face  discounte 
nanced,  — "  the  baron  visits  us  under  dis 
couragement.  He  comes  from  far  countries. 
It  is  the  custom  of  gentlefolk  of  —  of  foreign 
extraction  to  wander  through  strange  lands, 
commenting  upon  the  habits  and  doings  of 
the  peoples.  He  will  find  in  Jersey,"  con 
tinued  Mr.  Blossom,  apparently  appealing  to 
Thankful,  yet  really  evading  her  contemptu 
ous  glance,  "  a  hard-working  yeomanry,  ever 
ready  to  welcome  the  stranger,  and  account 
to  him,  penny  for  penny,  for  all  his  necessary 


THANKFUL   BLOSSOM.  45 

expenditure ;  for  which  purpose,  in  these 
troublous  times,  he  will  provide  for  him 
self  gold  or  other  moneys  not  affected  by 
these  local  disturbances." 

"  He  will  find,  good  friend  Blossom,"  said 
the  baron  in  a  rapid,  voluble  way,  utterly  at 
variance  with  the  soft,  quiet  gravity  of  his 
eyes,  "  Beauty,  Grace,  Accom-plishment,  and 
—  eh  —  Santa  Maria,  what  shall  I  say  ?  " 
He  turned  appealingly  to  the  count. 

"Virtue,"  nodded  the  count. 

"  Truly,  Birtoo !  all  in  the  fair  lady  of  thees 
countries.  Ah,  believe  me,  honest  friend 
Blossom,  there  is  mooch  more  in  thees,  than 
in  thoss ! " 

So  much  of  this  speech  was  addressed  to 
Mistress  Thankful,  that  she  had  to  show  at 
least  one  dimple  in  reply,  albeit  her  brows 
were  slightly  knit,  and  she  had  turned  upon 
the  speaker  her  honest,  questioning  eyes. 


46  THANKFUL  BLOSSOM. 

"And  then  the  General  Washington  has 
been  kind  enough  to  offer  his  protection," 
added  the  count. 

"  Any  fool  —  any  one,"  supplemented 
Thankful  hastily,  with  a  slight  blush  — 
"may  have  the  general's  pass,  ay,  and  his 
good  word.  But  what  of  Mistress  Prudence 
Bookstaver  ?  —  she  that  has  a  sweetheart  in 
Knyphausen's  brigade,  ay,  —  I  warrant  a 
Hessian,  but  of  gentle  blood,  as  Mistress 
Prudence  has  often  told  me,  —  and,  look 
you,  all  her  letters  stopped  by  the  general,  ay, 
I  warrant,  read  by  my  Lady  Washington  too, 
as  if  'twere  her  fault  that  her  lad  was  in  arms 
against  Congress.  Riddle  me  that,  now  !  " 

"Tis  but  prudence,  lass,"  said  Blossom, 
frowning  on  the  girl.  "'Tis  that  she  might 
disclose  some  movement  of  the  army,  tending 
to  defeat  the  enemy." 

"  And  why  should  she  not  try  to  save  her 


THANKFUL  BLOSSOM. 


lad  from  capture  or  ambuscade  such  as  befell 
the  Hessian  commissary  with  the  provisions 
that  you  "  — 

Mr.  Blossom,  in  an  ostensible  fatherly 
embrace,  managed  to  pinch  Mistress  Thank 
ful  sharply.  "  Hush,  lass,"  he  said  with  sim 
ulated  playfulness  ;  "  your  tongue  clacks  like 
the  Whippany  mill.  —  My  daughter  has  small 
concern  —  'tis  the  manner  of  womenfolk  — 
in  politics,"  he  explained  to  his  guests. 
"  These  dangersome  days  have  given  her  sore 
affliction  by  way  of  parting  comrades  of  her 
childhood,  and  others  whom  she  has  much 
affected.  It  has  in  some  sort  soured  her." 

Mr.  Blossom  would  have  recalled  this 
speech  as  soon  as  it  escaped  him,  lest  it 
should  lead  to  a  revelation  from  the  truthful 
Mistress  Thankful  of  her  relations  with  the 
Continental  captain.  But  to  his  astonish 
ment,  and,  I  may  add,  to  my  own,  she  showed 


48  THANKFUL  BLOSSOM. 

nothing  of  that  disposition  she  had  exhibited 
a  few  moments  before.  On  the  contrary,  she 
blushed  slightly,  and  said  nothing. 

And  then  the  conversation  changed, — 
upon  the  weather,  the  hard  winter,  the  pros 
pects,  of  the  Cause,  a  criticism  upon  the 
commander-in-chief's  management  of  affairs, 
the  attitude  of  Congress,  etc.,  between  Mr. 
Blossom  and  the  count ;  characterized,  I 
hardly  need  say,  by  that  positiveness  of 
opinion  that  distinguishes  the  unprofessional. 
In  another  part  of  the  room,  it  so  chanced 
that  Mistress  Thankful  and  the  baron  were 
talking  about  themselves  ;  the  assembly 
balls ;  who  was  the  prettiest  woman  in  Mor- 
ristown ;  and  whether  Gen.  Washington's 
attentions  to  Mistress  Pyne  were  only  per 
functory  gallantry,  or  what ;  and  if  Lady 
Washington's  hair  was  really  gray  ;  and  if 
that  young  aide-de-camp,  Major  Van  Zandt, 


THANKFUL  BLOSSOM.  49 

were  really  in  love  with  Lady  W.,  or  whether 
his  attentions  were  only  the  zeal  of  a  sub 
altern,  —  in  the  midst  of  which  a  sudden  gust 
of  wind  shook  the  house  ;  and  Mr.  Blossom, 
going  to  the  front  door,  came  back  with  the 
announcement  that  it  was  snowing  heavily. 

And  indeed,  within  that  past  hour,  to  their 
astonished  eyes  the  whole  face  of  nature  had 
changed.  The  moon  was  gone,  the  sky  hid 
den  in  a  blinding,  whirling  swarm  of  stinging 
flakes.  The  wind,  bitter  and  strong,  had 
already  fashioned  white  feathery  drifts  upon 
the  threshold,  over  the  painted  benches  on 
the  porch,  and  against  the  door-posts. 

Mistress  Thankful  and  the  baron  had 
walked  to  the  rear  door  —  the  baron  with  a 
slight  tropical  shudder  —  to  view  this  mete 
orological  change.  As  Mistress  Thankful 
looked  over  the  the  snowy  landscape,  it 
seemed  to  her  that  all  record  of  her  past 


5O  THANKFUL  BLOSSOM. 

experience  had  been  effaced  :  her  very  foot 
prints  of  an  hour  before  were  lost ;  the  gray 
wall  on  which  she  leaned  was  white  and  spot 
less  now ;  even  the  familiar  farm-shed  looked 
dim  and  strange  and  ghostly.  Had  she  been 
there  ?  had  she  seen  the  captain  ?  was  it  all  a 
fancy  ?  She  scarcely  knew. 

A  sudden  gust  of  wind  closed  the  door 
behind  them  with  a  crash,  and  sent  Mistress 
Thankful,  with  a  slight  feminine  scream, 
forward  into  the  outer  darkness.  But  the 
baron  caught  her  by  the  waist,  and  saved 
her  from  Heaven  knows  what  imaginable 
disaster ;  and  the  scene  ended  in  a  half- 
hysterical  laugh.  But  the  wind  then  set 
upon  them  both  with  a  malevolent  fury ;  and 
the  baron  was,  I  presume,  obliged  to  draw 
her  closer  to  his  side. 

They  were  alone,  save  for  the  presence  of 
those  mischievous  confederates,  Nature  and 


THANKFUL  BLOSSOM.  51 

Opportunity.  In  the  half-obscurity  of  the 
storm  she  could  not  help  turning  her  mis 
chievous  eyes  on  his.  But  she  was  per 
haps  surprised  to  find  them  luminous,  soft, 
and,  as  it  seemed  to  her  at  that  moment, 
grave  beyond  the  occasion.  An  embarrass 
ment  utterly  new  and  singular  seized  upon 
her ;  and  when,  as  she  half  feared  yet  half  ex 
pected,  he  bent  down  and  pressed  his  lips  to 
hers,  she  was  for  a  moment  powerless.  But 
in  the  next  instant  she  boxed  his  ears  sharp 
ly,  and  vanished  in  the  darkness.  When  Mr. 
Blossom  opened  the  door  to  the  baron  he  was 
surprised  to  find  that  gentleman  alone,  and 
still  more  surprised  to  find,  when  they  re- 
entered  the  house,  to  see  Mistress  Thankful 
enter  at  the  same  moment,  demurely,  from 
the  front  door. 

When  Mr.  Blossom  knocked  at  his  daugh 
ter's  door  the  next  morning  it  opened  upon 


52  THANKFUL   BLOSSOM. 

her  completely  dressed,  but  withal  somewhat 
pale,  and,  if  the  truth  must  be  told,  a  little 
surly. 

"And  you  were  stirring  so  early,  Thank 
ful,"  he  said :  "  'twould  have  been  but  decent 
to  have  bidden  God-speed  to  the  guests,  es 
pecially  the  baron,  who  seemed  much  con 
cerned  at  your  absence." 

Miss  Thankful  blushed  slightly,  but  an 
swered  with  savage  celerity,  "  And  since  when 
is  it  necessary  that  I  should  dance  attend 
ance  upon  every  foreign  jack-in-the-box  that 
may  lie  at  the  house  ? " 

"  He  has  shown  great  courtesy  to  you,  mis 
tress,  and  is  a  gentleman." 

"  Courtesy,  indeed  !  "  said  Mistress  Thank 
ful. 

"  He  has  not  presumed  ? "  said  Mr.  Blos 
som  suddenly,  bringing  his  cold  gray  eyes  to 
bear  upon  his  daughter's. 


THANKFUL  BLOSSOM.  53 

"  No,  no,"  said  Thankful  hurriedly,  flaming 
a  bright  scarlet ;  "  but  —  nothing.  But  what 
have  you  there  ?  a  letter  ? " 

"  Ay,  —  from  the  captain,  I  warrant," 
said  Mr.  Blossom,  handing  her  a  three-cor 
nered  bit  of  paper :  "  'twas  left  here  by  a 
camp-follower.  Thankful,"  he  continued, 
with  a  meaning  glance,  "you  will  heed  my 
counsel  in  season.  The  captain  is  not  meet 
for  such  as  you." 

Thankful  suddenly  grew  pale  and  contempt 
uous  again  as  she  snatched  the  letter  from 
his  hand.  When  his  retiring  footsteps  were 
lost  on  the  stairs  she  regained  her  color,  and 
opened  the  letter.  It  was  slovenly  written, 
grievously  mis-spelled,  and  read  as  follows  :  • — 

"  SWEETHEART  :  A  tyranous  Act,  begotten  in 
Envy  and  Jealousie,  keeps  me  here  a  prisoner.  Last 
night  I  was  Basely  arrested  by  Servile  Hands  for  that 
Freedom  of  Thought  and  Expression  for  which  I 


54  THANKFUL  BLOSSOM. 

have  already  Sacrifized  so  much  —  aye  all  that  Man 
hath  but  Love  and  Honour.  But  the  End  is  Near. 
When  for  the  Maintenance  of  Power,  the  Liberties 
of  the  Peoples  are  subdued  by  Martial  Supremacy 
and  the  Dictates  of  Ambition  the  State  is  Lost.  I 
lie  in  Vile  Bondage  here  in  Morristown  under  charge 
of  Disrespeck  —  me  that  a  twelvemonth  past  left  a 
home  and  Respectable  Connexions  to  serve  my  Coun 
try.  Believe  me  still  your  own  Love,  albeit  in  the 
Power  of  Tyrants  and  condemned  it  may  be  to  the 
scaffold. 

"The  Messenger  is  Trustworthy  and  will  speed 
safely  to  me  such  as  you  may  deliver  unto  him.  The 
Provender  sanktified  by  your  Hands  and  made  pre 
cious  by  yr.  Love  was  wrested  from  me  by  Servil 
Hands  and  the  Eggs,  Sweetheart,  were  somewhat 
Addled.  The  Bacon  is,  methinks  by  this  time  on  the 
Table  of  the  ComMn-Chief.  Such  is  Tyranny  and 
Ambition.  Sweetheart,  farewell,  for  the  present. 

"  ALLAN." 

Mistress  Thankful  read  this  composition 
once,  twice,  and  then  tore  it  up.  Then,  re- 


TPIANKFUL  BLOSSOM.  55 

fleeting  that  it  was  the  first  letter  of  her 
lover's  that  she  had  not  kept,  she  tried  to  put 
together  again  the  torn  fragments,  but  vainly  ; 
and  then  in  a  pet,  new  to  her,  cast  them 
from  the  window.  During  the  rest  of  the 
day  she  was  considerably  distraite,  and  even 
manifested  more  temper  than  she  was  wont 
to  do  ;  and  later,  when  her  father  rode  away 
on  his  daily  visit  to  Morristown,  she  felt 
strangely  relieved.  By  noon  the  snow  ceased, 
or  rather  turned  into  a  driving  sleet  that  again 
in  turn  gave  way  to  rain.  By  this  time  she 
became  absorbed  in  her  household  duties,  — 
in  which  she  was  usually  skilful, —  and  in  her 
own  thoughts  that  to-day  had  a  novelty  in 
their  meaning.  In  the  midst  of  this,  at  about 
dark,  her  room  being  in  the  rear  of  the  house, 
she  was  perhaps  unmindful  of  the  trampling 
of  horse  without,  or  the  sound  of  voices  in 
the  hall  below.  Neither  was  uncommon  at 


56  THANKFUL  BLOSSOM. 

that  time.  Although  protected  by  the  Con 
tinental  army  from  forage  or  the  rudeness  of 
soldiery,  the  Blossom  farm  had  always  been  a 
halting-place  for  passing  troopers,  commissary 
teamsters,  and  reconnoitring  officers.  Gen. 
Sullivan  and  Col.  Hamilton  had  watered  their 
horses  at  its  broad,  substantial  wayside 
trough,  and  sat  in  the  shade  of  its  porch. 
Miss  Thankful  was  only  awakened  from  her 
day-dream  by  the  entrance  of  the  negro 
farm-hand,  Caesar. 

"  Fo'  God,  Missy  Thankful,  them  sogers  is 
g'wine  into  camp  in  the  road,  I  reckon,  for 
they's  jest  makin'  theysevs  free  afo'  the 
house,  and  they's  an  officer  in  the  company- 
room  with  his  spurs  cocked  on  the  table, 
readhY  a  book." 

A  quick  flame  leaped  into  Thankful' s  cheek, 
and  her  pretty  brows  knit  themselves  over 
darkening  eyes.  She  arose  from  her  work, 


THANKFUL  BLOSSOM. 


no  longer  the  moody  girl,  but  an  indignant 
goddess,  and,  pushing  the  servant  aside,  swept 
down  the  stairs,  and  threw  open  the  door. 

An  officer  sitting  by  the  fire  in  an  easy, 
lounging  attitude  that  justified  the  servant's 
criticism,  arose  instantly  with  an  air  of  evi 
dent  embarrassment  and  surprise  that  was, 
however,  as  quickly  dominated  and  controlled 
by  a  gentleman's  breeding. 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,"  he  said,  with  a  deep 
inclination  of  his  handsome  head,  "  but  I  had 
no  idea  that  there  was  any  member  of  this 
household  at  home  —  at  least,  a  lady."  He 
hesitated  a  moment,  catching  in  the  raising 
of  her  brown-fringed  lids  a  sudden  revelation 
of  her  beauty,  and  partly  losing  his  compo 
sure.  "  I  am  Major  Van  Zandt  :  I  have  the 
honor  of  addressing  "  — 

"  Thankful  Blossom,"  said  Thankful  a  little 
proudly,  divining  with  a  woman's  swift  instinct 


58  THANKFUL  BLOSSOM. 

the  cause  of  the  major's  hesitation.  But  her 
triumph  was  checked  by  a  new  embarrass 
ment  visible  in  the  face  of  the  officer  at  the 
mention  of  her  name. 

"Thankful  Blossom,"  repeated  the  officer 
quickly.  "You  are,  then,  the  daughter  of 
Abner  Blossom  ? " 

"  Certainly,"  said  Thankful,  turning  her 
inquiring  eyes  upon  him.  "  He  will  be  here 
betimes.  He  has  gone  only  to  Morristown." 
In  a  new  fear  that  had  taken  possession  of 
her,  her  questioning  eyes  asked,  "  Has  he 
not  ? " 

The  officer,  answering  her  eyes  rather  than 
her  lips,  came  toward  her  gravely.  "  He  will 
not  return  to-day,  Mistress  Thankful,  nor  per 
haps  even  to-morrow.  He  is  —  a  prisoner." 

Thankful  opened  her  brown  eyes  aggress 
ively  on  the  major.  "  A  prisoner — for  what  ? " 

"  For   aiding    and   giving   comfort   to   the 


THANKFUL  BLOSSOM.  59 

enemy,  and  for  harboring  spies,"  replied  the 
major  with  military  curtness. 

Mistress  Thankful's  cheek  flushed  slightly 
at  the  last  sentence :  a  recollection  of  the 
scene  on  the  porch  and  the  baron's  stolen 
kiss  flashed  across  her,  and  for  a  moment  she 
looked  as  guilty  as  if  the  man  before  her  had 
been  a  witness  to  the  deed.  He  saw  it,  and 
misinterpreted  her  confusion. 

"Belike,  then,"  said  Mistress  Thankful, 
slightly  raising  her  voice,  and  standing 
squarely  before  the  major,  "belike,  then,  / 
should  be  a  prisoner  too ;  for  the  guests  of 
this  house,  if  they  be  spies,  were  my  guests, 
and,  as  my  father's  daughter,  I  was  their 
hostess  ;  ay,  man,  and  right  glad  to  be  the 
hostess  of  such  gallant  gentlemen,  —  gentle 
men,  I  warrant,  too  fine  to  insult  a  defence 
less  girl ;  gentlemen  spies  that  did  not  cock 
their  boots  on  the  table,  or  turn  an  honest 
farmer's  house  into  a  tap-room." 


6O  THANKFUL  BLOSSOM. 

An  expression  of  half  pain,  half  amusement, 
covered  the  face  of  the  major,  but  he  made  no 
other  reply  than  by  a  profound  and  graceful 
bow.  Courteous  and  deprecatory  as  it  was, 
it  apparently  exasperated  Mistress  Thankful 
only  the  more. 

"And  pray  who  are  these  spies,  and  who 
is  the  informer  ? "  said  Mistress  Thankful, 
facing  the  soldier,  with  one  hand  truculently 
placed  on  her  flexible  hip,  and  the  other 
slipped  behind  her.  "  Methinks  'tis  only 
honest  we  should  know  when  and  how  we 
have  entertained  both." 

"  Your  father,  Mistress  Thankful,"  said 
Major  Van  Zandt  gravely,  "  has  long  been 
suspected  of  favoring  the  enemy  ;  but  it  has 
been  the  policy  of  the  commander-in-chief 
to  overlook  the  political  preferences  of  non- 
combatants,  and  to  strive  to  win  their  alle 
giance  to  the  good  cause  by  liberal  privileges. 


THANKFUL  BLOSSOM.  6 1 

But  when  it  was  lately  discovered  that  two 
strangers,  although  bearing  a  pass  from  him, 
have  been  frequenters  of  this  house  under 
fictitious  names  "  — 

"  You  mean  Count  Ferdinand  and  the 
Baron  Pomposo,"  said  Thankful  quickly, — 
"  two  honest  gentlefolk ;  and  if  they  choose 
to  pay  their  devoirs  to  a  lass  —  although, 
perhaps,  not  a  quality  lady,  yet  an  honest 

girl"  — 

"  Dear  Mistress  Thankful,"  said  the  major 
with  a  profound  bow  and  smile,  that,  spite  of 
its  courtesy,  drove  Thankful  to  the  verge  of 
wrathful  hysterics,  "  if  you  establish  that  fact, 
—  and,  from  this  slight  acquaintance  with 
your  charms,  I  doubt  not  you  will, — your 
father  is  safe  from  further  inquiry  or  deten 
tion.  The  commander-in-chief  is  a  gentle 
man  who  has  never  underrated  the  influence 
of  your  sex,  nor  held  himself  averse  to  its 
fascinations." 


62  THANKFUL  BLOSSOM. 

"  What  is  the  name  of  this  informer  ? " 
broke  in  Mistress  Thankful  angrily.  "Who 
is  it  that  has  dared  "  — 

"It  is  but  king's  evidence,  mayhap,  Mis 
tress  Thankful ;  for  the  informer  is  himself 
under  arrest.  It  is  on  the  information  of 
Capt.  Allan  Brewster  of  the  Connecticut  Con 
tingent." 

Mistress  Thankful  whitened,  then  flushed, 
and  then  whitened  again.  Then  she  stood 
up  to  the  major. 

"  It's  a  lie,  —  a  cowardly  lie !  " 

Major  Van  Zandt  bowed.  Mistress  Thank 
ful  flew  up  stairs,  and  in  another  moment 
swept  back  again  into  the  room  in  riding  hat 
and  habit. 

"  I  suppose  I  can  go  and  see  —  my  father," 
she  said,  without  lifting  her  eyes  to  the 
officer. 

"  You   are  free  as  air,  Mistress  Thankful. 


THANKFUL  BLOSSOM.  63 

My  orders  and  instructions,  far  from  impli 
cating  you  in  your  father's  offences,  do  not 
even  suggest  your  existence.  Let  me  help 
you  to  your  horse." 

The  girl  did  not  reply.  During  that  brief 
interval,  however,  Caesar  had  saddled  her 
white  mare,  and  brought  it  to  the  door.  Mis 
tress  Thankful,  disdaining  the  offered  hand 
of  the  major,  sprang  to  the  saddle. 

The  major  still  held  the  reins.  "  One 
moment,  Mistress  Thankful." 

"  Let  me  go !  "  she  said,  with  suppressed 
passion. 

"  One  moment,  I  beg." 

His  hand  still  held  her  bridle-rein.  The 
mare  reared,  nearly  upsetting  her.  Crimson 
with  rage  and  mortification,  she  raised  her 
riding-whip,  and  laid  it  smartly  over  the  face 
of  the  man  before  her. 

He  dropped  the  rein  instantly.     Then  he 


64  THANKFUL  BLOSSOM. 

raised  to  her  a  face  calm  and  colorless,  but 
for  a  red  line  extending  from  his  eyebrow  to 
his  chin,  and  said  quietly,  — 

"  I  had  no  desire  to  detain  you.  I  only 
wished  to  say  that  when  you  see  Gen.  Wash 
ington  I  know  you  will  be  just  enough  to  tell 
him  that  Major  Van  Zandt  knew  nothing  of 
your  wrongs,  or  even  your  presence  here, 
until  you  presented  them,  and  that  since  then 
he  has  treated  you  as  became  an  officer  and 
a  gentleman." 

Yet  even  as  he  spoke  she  was  gone.  At 
the  moment  that  her  fluttering  skirt  swept  in 
a  furious  gallop  down  the  hillside,  the  major 
turned,  and  re-entered  the  house.  The  few 
lounging  troopers  who  were  witnesses  of  the 
scene  prudently  turned  their  eyes  from  the 
white  face  and  blazing  eyes  of  their  officer  as 
he  strode  by  them.  Nevertheless,  when  the 
door  closed  behind  him,  contemporary  criti 
cism  broke  out :  — 


THANKFUL  BLOSSOM.  65 

"  'Tis  a  Tory  jade,  vexed  that  she  cannot 
befool  the  major  as  she  has  the  captain," 
muttered  Sergeant  Tibbitts. 

"  And  going  to  try  her  tricks  on  the  gen 
eral,"  added  Private  Hicks. 

Howbeit  both  these  critics  may  have  been 
wrong.  For  as  Mistress  Thankful  thundered 
down  the  Morristown  road  she  thought  of 
many  things.  She  thought  of  her  sweet 
heart  Allan,  a  prisoner,  and  pining  for  her 
help  and  her  solicitude  ;  and  yet  —  how  dared 
he  —  if  he  had  really  betrayed  or  misjudged 
her !  And  then  she  thought  bitterly  of  the 
count  and  the  baron,  and  burned  to  face 
the  latter,  and  in  some  vague  way  charge  the 
stolen  kiss  upon  him  as  the  cause  of  all  her 
shame  and  mortification.  And  lastly  she 
thought  of  her  father,  and  began  to  hate 
everybody.  But  above  all  and  through  all, 
in  her  vague  fears  for  her  father,  in  her  pas- 


66  THANKFUL  BLOSSOM. 

sionate  indignation  against  the  baron,  in  her 
fretful  impatience  of  Allan,  one  thing  was 
ever  dominant  and  obtrusive ;  one  thing  she 
tried  to  put  away,  but  could  not,  —  the  hand 
some,  colorless  face  of  Major  Van  Zandt,  with 
the  red  welt  of  her  riding-whip  overlying  its 
cold  outlines. 


PART  III. 


III. 


THE  rising  wind,  which  had  ridden  much 
faster  than  Mistress  Thankful,  had  in 
creased  to  a  gale  by  the  time  it  reached 
Morristown.  It  swept  through  the  leafless 
maples,  and  rattled  the  dry  bones  of  the 
elms.  It  whistled  through  the  quiet  Presby 
terian  churchyard,  as  if  trying  to  arouse  the 
sleepers  it  had  known  in  days  gone  by.  It 
shook  the  blank,  lustreless  windows  of  the 
Assembly  Rooms  over  the  Freemasons'  Tav 
ern,  and  wrought  in  their  gusty  curtains  mov 
ing  shadows  of  those  amply  petticoated  dames 
and  tightly  hosed  cavaliers  who  had  swung  in 
"Sir  Roger,"  or  jigged  in  "  Money  Musk," 

the  night  before. 

69 


7O  THANKFUL  BLOSSOM. 

But  I  fancy  it  was  around  the  isolated 
"  Ford  Mansion,"  better  known  as  the  "  Head 
quarters,"  that  the  wind  wreaked  its  gro 
tesque  rage.  It  howled  under  its  scant  eaves, 
it  sang  under  its  bleak  porch,  it  tweaked  the 
peak  of  its  front  gable,  it  whistled  through 
every  chink  and  cranny  of  its  square,  solid, 
unpicturesque  structure.  Situated  on  a  hill 
side  that  descended  rapidly  to  the  Whippany 
River,  every  summer  zephyr  that  whispered 
through  the  porches  of  the  Morristown  farm 
houses  charged  as  a  stiff  breeze  upon  the 
swinging  half  doors  and  windows  of  the 
"  Ford  Mansion  ;  "  every  wintry  wind  became 
a  gale  that  threatened  its  security.  The  sen 
try  who  paced  before  its  front  porch  knew 
from  experience  when  to  linger  under  its  lee, 
and  adjust  his  threadbare  outer  coat  to  the 
bitter  north  wind. 

Within  the  house  something  of  this  cheer- 


THANKFUL   BLOSSOM. 


lessness  prevailed.  It  had  an  ascetic  gloom, 
which  the  scant  firelight  of  the  reception- 
room,  and  the  dying  embers  on  the  dining- 
room  hearth,  failed  to  dissipate.  The  central 
hall  was  broad,  and  furnished  plainly  with  a 
few  rush-bottomed  chairs,  on  one  of  which 
half  dozed  a  black  body-servant  of  the  com- 
mander-in-chief.  Two  officers  in  the  dining- 
room,  drawn  close  by  the  chimney-corner, 
chatted  in  undertones,  as  if  mindful  that  the 
door  of  the  drawing-room  was  open,  and  their 
voices  might  break  in  upon  its  sacred  privacy. 
The  swinging  light  in  the  hall  partly  illumin 
ated  it,  or  rather  glanced  gloomily  from  the 
black  polished  furniture,  the  lustreless  chairs, 
the  quaint  cabinet,  the  silent  spinet,  the 
skeleton-legged  centre-table,  and  finally  upon 
the  motionless  figure  of  a  man  seated  by  the 
fire. 

It  was  a  figure  since  so  well  known  to  the 


72  THANKFUL  BLOSSOM. 

civilized  world,  since  so  celebrated  in  print 
and  painting,  as  to  need  no  description  here. 
Its  rare  combination  of  gentle  dignity  with 
profound  force,  of  a  set  resoluteness  of  pur 
pose  with  a  philosophical  patience,  have  been 
so  frequently  delivered  to  a  people  not  par 
ticularly  remarkable  for  these  qualities,  that  I 
fear  it  has  too  often  provoked  a  spirit  of  play 
ful  aggression,  in  which  the  deeper  under 
lying  meaning  was  forgotten.  So  let  me  add 
that  in  manner,  physical  equipoise,  and  even 
in  the  mere  details  of  dress,  this  figure  indi 
cated  a  certain  aristocratic  exclusiveness.  It 
was  the  presentment  of  a  king,  —  a  king  who 
by  the  irony  of  circumstances  was  just  then 
waging  war  against  all  kingship  ;  a  ruler  of 
men,  who  just  then  was  fighting  for  the  right 
of  these  men  ,  to  govern  themselves,  but 
whom  by  his  own  inherent  right  he  domi 
nated.  From  the  crown  of  his  powdered 


THANKFUL  BLOSSOM.  73 

head  to  the  silver  buckle  of  his  shoe  he  was 
so  royal  that  it  was  not  s- range  that  his 
brother  George  of  England  and  Hanover  — 
ruling  by  accident,  otherwise  impiously  known 
as  the  "grace  of  God"  —  could  find  no  better 
way  of  resisting  his  power  than  by  calling 
him  "  Mr.  Washington." 

The  sound  of  horses'  hoofs,  the  formal 
challenge  of  sentry,  the  grave  questioning  of 
the  officer  of  the  guard,  followed  by  footsteps 
upon  the  porch,  did  not  apparently  disturb 
his  meditation.  Nor  did  the  opening  of  the 
outer  door,  and  a  charge  of  cold  air  into  the 
hall  that  invaded  even  the  privacy  of  the 
reception-room,  and  brightened  the  dying  em 
bers  on  the  hearth,  stir  his  calm  pre-occupa- 
tion.  But  an  instant  later  there  was  the 
distinct  rustle  of  a  feminine  skirt  in  the  hall, 
a  hurried  whispering  of  men's  voices,  and 
then  the  sudden  apparition  of  a  smooth,  fresh- 


74  THANKFUL   BLOSSOM. 

faced  young  officer  over  the  shoulder  of  the 
unconscious  figure. 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,  general,"  said  the  offi 
cer  doubt ingly,  "  but  "  — 

"  You  are  not  intruding,  Col.  Hamilton," 
said  the  general  quietly. 

"There  is  a  young  lady  without  who  wishes 
an  audience  of  your  Excellency.  'Tis  Mistress 
Thankful  Blossom, — the  daughter  of  Abne'r 
Blossom,  charged  with  treasonous  practice  and 
favoring  the  enemy,  now  in  the  guard-house 
at  Morristown." 

"  Thankful  Blossom  ? "  repeated  the  general 
interrogatively. 

"  Your  Excellency  doubtless  remembers  a 
little  provincial  beauty  and  a  famous  toast  of 
the  country-side,  — the  Cressida  of  our  Morris- 
town  epic,  who  led  our  gallant  Connecticut 
captain  astray  "  — 

"  You  have    the   advantages,   besides    the 


THANKFUL  BLOSSOM.  ?$ 

better  memory  of  a  younger  man,  colonel," 
said  Washington,  with  a  playful  smile  that 
slightly  reddened  the  cheek  of  his  aide-de 
camp.  "  Yet  I  think  I  have  heard  of  this 
phenomenon.  By  all  means,  admit  her  — 
and  her  escort." 

"  She  is  alone,  general,"  responded  the 
subordinate. 

"  Then  the  more  reason  why  we  should  be 
polite,"  returned  Washington,  for  the  first 
time  altering  his  easy  posture,  rising  to  his 
feet,  and  lightly  clasping  his  ruffled  hands 
before  him.  "  We  must  not  keep  her  waiting. 
Give  her  access,  my  dear  colonel,  at  once ; 
and  even  as  she  came,  — alone'' 

The  aide-de-camp  bowed  and  withdrew. 
In  another  moment  the  half-opened  door 
swung  wide  to  Mistress  Thankful  Blossom. 

She  was  so  beautiful  in  her  simple  riding- 
dress,  so  quaint  and  original  in  that  very 


76  THANKFUL  BLOSSOM. 

beauty,  and,  above  all,  so  teeming  with  a  cer 
tain  vital  earnestness  of  purpose  just  positive 
and  audacious  enough  to  set  off  that  beauty, 
that  the  grave  gentleman  before  her  did  not 
content  himself  with  the  usual  formal  inclina 
tion  of  courtesy,  but  actually  advanced,  and, 
taking  her  cold  little  hand  in  his,  graciously 
led  her  to  the  chair  he  had  just  vacated, 

"  Even  if  your  name  were  not  known  to 
me,  Mistress  Thankful,"  said  the  commander- 
ln-chief,  looking  down  upon  her  with  grave 
politeness,  "  nature  has,  methinks,  spared  you 
the  necessity  of  any  introduction  to  the  cour 
tesy  of  a  gentleman.  But  how  can  I  espe 
cially  serve  you  ? " 

Alack!  the  blaze  of  Mistress  Thankful's 
brown  eyes  had  become  somewhat  dimmed 
in  the  grave  half-lights  of  the  room,  in  the 
graver,  deeper  dignity  of  the  erect,  soldier 
like  figure  before  her.  The  bright  color  born 


THANKFUL  BLOSSOM.  77 

of  the  tempest  within  and  without  had  some 
how  faded  from  her  cheek ;  the  sauciness 
begotten  from  bullying  her  horse  in  the  last 
half -hour's  rapid  ride  was  so  subdued  by  the 
actual  presence  of  the  man  she  had  come  to 
bully,  that  I  fear  she  had  to  use  all  her  self- 
control  to  keep  down  he'r  inclination  to  whim 
per,  and  to  keep  back  the  tears,  that,  oddly 
enough,  rose  to  her  sweet  eyes  as  she  lifted 
them  to  the  quietly  critical  yet  placid  glance 
of  her  interlocutor. 

"  I  can  readily  conceive  the  motive  of  this 
visit,  Miss  Thankful,"  continued  Washington, 
with  a  certain  dignified  kindliness  that  was 
more  re-assuring  than  the  formal  gallantry  of 
the  period ;  "  and  it  is,  I  protest,  to  your 
credit.  A  father's  welfare,  however  erring 
and  weak  that  father  may  be,  is  most 
seemly  in  a  maiden"  — 

Thankf ill's  eyes  flashed  again  as  she  rose 


78  THANKFUL   BLOSSOM. 

to  her  feet.  Her  upper  lip,  that  had  a  mo 
ment  before  trembled  in  a  pretty  infantine 
distress,  now  stiffened  and  curled  as  she  con 
fronted  the  dignified  figure  before  her.  "  It 
is  not  of  my  father  I  would  speak,"  she  said 
saucily :  "  I  did  not  ride  here  alone  to-night, 
in  this  weather,  to  talk  of  him  ;  I  warrant  he 
can  speak  for  himself.  I  came  here  to  speak 
of  myself,  of  lies  —  ay,  lies  told  of  me,  a 
poor  girl ;  ay,  of  cowardly  gossip  about  me 
and  my  sweetheart,  Capt.  Brewster,  now  con 
fined  in  prison  because  he  hath  loved  me, 
a  lass  without  politics  or  adherence  to  the 
cause  —  as  if  'twere  necessary  every  lad 
should  ask  the  confidence  or  permission  of 
yourself  or,  belike,  my  Lady  Washington,  in 
his  preferences." 

She  paused  a  moment,  out  of  breath. 
With  a  woman's  quickness  of  intuition  she 
saw  the  change  in  Washington's  face,  —  saw  a 


THANKFUL  BLOSSOM.  79 

certain  cold  severity  overshadowing  it.  With 
a  woman's  fateful  persistency  —  a  persistency 
which  I  humbly  suggest  might,  on  occasion, 
be  honorably  copied  by  our  more  politic  sex 

—  she  went  on  to  say  what  was  in  her,  even 
if  she  were  obliged,  with  a  woman's  honorable 
inconsistency,    to    unsay   it  an  hour   or  two 
later ;    an  inconsistency  which  I  also  humbly 
protest  might  be  as  honorably  imitated  by  us 

—  on  occasion. 

"  It  has  been  said,"  said  Thankful  Blossom 
quickly,  "  that  my  father  has  given  entertain 
ment  knowingly  to  two  spies,  —  two  spies 
that,  begging  your  Excellency's  pardon,  and 
the  pardon  of  Congress,  I  know  only  as  two 
honorable  gentlemen  who  have  as  honorably 
tendered  me  their  affections.  It  is  said,  and 
basely  and  most  falsely  too,  that  my  sweet 
heart,  Capt.  Allan  Brewster,  has  lodged  this 
information.  I  have  ridden  here  to  deny 


8O  THANKFUL  BLOSSOM. 

it.  I  have  ridden  here  to  demand  of  you 
that  an  honest  woman's  reputation  shall  not 
be  sacrificed  to  the  interests  of  politics  ;  that 
a  prying  mob  of  ragamuffins  shall  not  be  sent 
to  an  honest  farmer's  house  to  spy  and  spy  — 
and  turn  a  poor  girl  out  of  doors  that  they 
might  do  it.  'Tis  shameful,  so  it  is :  there ! 
'tis  most  scandalous,  so  it  is :  there,  now ! 
Spies,  indeed  !  what  are  they,  pray  ?  " 

In  the  indignation  which  the  recollection  of 
her  wrongs  had  slowly  gathered  in  her,  from 
the  beginning  of  this  speech,  she  had  ad 
vanced  her  face,  rosy  with  courage,  and  beau 
tiful  in  its  impertinence,  within  a  few  inches 
of  the  dignified  features  and  quiet  gray  eyes 
of  the  great  commander.  To  her  utter  stu 
pefaction,  he  bent  his  head  and  kissed  her, 
with  a  grave  benignity,  full  on  the  centre  of 
her  audacious  forehead. 

"  Be  seated,  I  beg,  Mistress  Blossom,"  he 


THANKFUL  BLOSSOM.  8 1 

said,  taking  her  cold  hand  in  his,  and  quietly 
replacing  her  in  the  unoccupied  chair.  "  Be 
seated,  I  beg,  and  give  me,  if  you  can,  your 
attention  for  a  moment.  The  officer  intrusted 
with  the  ungracious  task  of  occupying  your 
father's  house  is  a  member  of  my  military 
family,  and  a  gentleman.  If  he  has  so  far 
forgotten  himself — if  he  has  so  far  disgraced 
himself  and  me  as  " — 

"  No  !  no !  "  uttered  Thankful,  with  fever 
ish  alacrity,  "  the  gentleman  was  most  con 
siderate.  On  the  contrary  —  mayhap  —  I  " 
—  she  hesitated,  and  then  came  to  a  full 
stop,  with  a  heightened  color,  as  a  vivid  recol 
lection  of  that  gentleman's  face,  with  the 
mark  of  her  riding-whip  lying  across  it,  rose 
before  her. 

"  I  was  about  to  say  that  Major  Van  Zandt, 
as  a  gentleman,  has  known  how  to  fully 
excuse  the  natural  impulses  of  a  daughter," 


82  THANKFUL  BLOSSOM. 

continued  Washington,  with  a  look  of  perfect 
understanding ;  "  but  let  me  now  satisfy  you 
on  another  point,  where  it  would  seem  we 
greatly  differ." 

He  walked  to  the  door,  and  summoned  his 
servant,  to  whom  he  gave  an  order.  In  an 
other  moment  the  fresh-faced  young  officer 
who  had  at  first  admitted  her  re-appeared 
with  a  file  of  official  papers.  He  glanced 
slyly  at  Thankful  Blossom's  face  with  an 
amused  look,  as  if  he  had  already  heard  the 
colloquy  between  her  and  his  superior  officer, 
and  had  appreciated  that  which  neither  of  the 
earnest  actors  in  the  scene  had  themselves 
felt,  —  a  certain  sense  of  humor  in  the  situa 
tion. 

Howbeit,  standing  before  them,  Col.  Ham 
ilton  gravely  turned  over  the  file  of  papers. 
Thankful  bit  her  lips  in  embarrassment.  A 
slight  feeling  of  awe,  and  a  presentiment  of 


THANKFUL  BLOSSOM.  83 

some  fast-coming  shame  ;  a  new  and  strange 
consciousness  of  herself,  her  surroundings,  of 
the  dignity  of  the  two  men  before  her ;  an 
uneasy  feeling  of  the  presence  of  two  ladies 
who  had  in  some  mysterious  way  entered  the 
room  from  another  door,  and  who  seemed  to 
be  intently  regarding  her  from  afar  with  a 
curiosity  as  if  she  were  some  strange  animal ; 
and  a  wild  premonition  that  her  whole  future 
life  and  happiness  depended  upon  the  events 
of  the  next  few  moments,  —  so  took  posses 
sion  of  her,  that  the  brave  girl  trembled  for  a 
moment  in  her  isolation  and  loneliness.  In 
another  instant  Col.  Hamilton,  speaking  to 
his  superior,  but  looking  obviously  at  one  of 
the  ladies  who  had  entered,  handed  a  paper 
to  Washington,  and  said,  "  Here  are  the 
charges." 

"  Read  them,"  said  the  general  coldly. 

Col.  Hamilton,  with  a  manifest  conscious- 


84  THANKFUL  BLOSSOM. 

ness  of  another  hearer  than  Mistress  Blossom 
and  his  general,  read  the  paper.  It  was 
couched  in  phrases  of  military  and  legal  pre 
cision,  and  related  briefly,  that  upon  the  cer 
tain  and  personal  knowledge  of  the  writer, 
Abner  Blossom  of  the  "  Blossom  Farm  "  was 
in  the  habit  of  entertaining  two  gentlemen, 
namely,  the  "  Count  Ferdinand "  and  the 
"Baron  Pomposo,"  suspected  enemies  of  the 
cause,  and  possible  traitors  to  the  Continental 
army.  It  was  signed  by  Allan  Brewster,  late 
captain  in  the  Connecticut  Contingent. 

As  Col.  Hamilton  exhibited  the  signature, 
Thankful  Blossom  had  no  difficulty  in  recog 
nizing  the  familiar  bad  hand  and  equally 
familiar  mis-spelling  of  her  lover. 

She  rose  to  her  feet.  With  eyes  that 
showed  her  present  trouble  and  perplexity  as 
frankly  as  they  had  a  moment  before  blazed 
with  her  indignation,  she  met,  one  by  one, 


THANKFUL  BLOSSOM,  85 

the  glances  of  the  group  who  now  seemed  to 
be  closing  round  her.  Yet  with  a  woman's 
instinct  she  felt,  I  am  constrained  to  say, 
more  unfriendliness  in  the  silent  presence  of 
the  two  women  than  in  the  possible  out 
spoken  criticism  of  our  much-abused  sex. 

"  Of  course,"  said  a  voice  which  Thankful 
at  once,  by  a  woman's  unerring  instinct, 
recognized  as  the  elder  of  the  two  ladies,  and 
the  legitimate  keeper  of  the  conscience  of 
some  one  of  the  men  who  were  present,  — 
"  of  course  Mistress  Thankful  will  be  able  to 
elect  which  of  her  lovers  among  her  coun 
try's  enemies  she  will  be  able  to  cling  to  for 
support  in  her  present  emergency.  She  does 
not  seem  to  have  been  so  special  in  her 
favors  as  to  have  positively  excluded  any 
one." 

"  At  least,  dear  Lady  Washington,  she  will 
not  give  it  to  the  man  who  has  proven  a 


86  THANKFUL  BLOSSOM. 

traitor  to  her"  said  the  younger  woman  im 
pulsively.  "That  is  —  I  beg  your  ladyship's 
pardon  "  —  she  hesitated,  observing  in  the 
dead  silence  that  ensued  that  the  two  superior 
male  beings  present  looked  at  each  other  in 
lofty  astonishment. 

"  He  that  is  trait' rous  to  his  country,"  said 
Lady  Washington  coldly,  "  is  apt  to  be  trait- 
'rous  elsewhere." 

"  'Twere  as  honest  to  say  that  he  that  was 
trait' rous  to  his  king  was  trait'rous  to  his 
country,"  said  Mistress  Thankful  with  sudden 
audacity,  bending  her  knit  brows  on  Lady 
Washington.  But  that  lady  turned  dignifiedly 
away,  and  Mistress  Thankful  again  faced  the 
general. 

"I  ask  your  pardon,"  she  said  proudly, 
"  for  troubling  you  with  my  wrongs.  But  it 
seems  to  me  that  even  if  another  and  a 
greater  wrong  were  done  me  by  my  sweet- 


THANKFUL   BLOSSOM.  8/ 

heart,  through  jealousy,  it  would  not  justify 
this  accusation  against  me,  even  though,"  she 
added,  darting  a  wicked  glance  at  the  placid 
brocaded  back  of  Lady  Washington,  "even 
though  that  accusation  came  from  one  who 
knows  that  jealousy  may  belong  to  the  wife 
of  a  patriot  as  well  as  a  traitor."  She  was 
herself  again  after  this  speech,  although  her 
face  was  white  with  the  blow  she  had  taken 
and  returned. 

Col.  Hamilton  passed  his  hand  across  his 
mouth,  and  coughed  slightly.  Gen.  Washing 
ton,  standing  by  the  fire  with  an  impassive 
face,  turned  to  Thankful  gravely  :  — : 

"You  are  forgetting,  Mistress  Thankful, 
that  you  have  not  told  me  how  I  can  serve 
you.  It  cannot  be  that  you  are  still  con 
cerned  in  Capt.  Brewster,  who  has  given 
evidence  against  your  other — friends,  and 
tacitly  against  you.  Nor  can  it  be  on  their 


88  THANKFUL  BLOSSOM. 

account,  for  I  regret  to  say  they  are  still  free 
and  unknown.  If  you  come  with  any  infor 
mation  exculpating  them,  and  showing  they 
are  not  spies  or  hostile  to  the  cause,  your 
father's  release  shall  be  certain  and  speedy. 
Let  me  ask  you  a  single  question  :  Why  do 
you  believe  them  honest  ? " 

"Because,"  said  Mistress  Thankful,  "they 
were  —  were —  gentlemen." 

"  Many  spies  have  been  of  excellent  family, 
good  address,  and  fair  talents,"  said  Washing 
ton  gravely  ;  "  but  you  have,  mayhap,  some 
other  reason." 

"  Because  they  talked  only  to  ME,"  said 
Mistress  Thankful,  blushing  mightily;  "be 
cause  they  preferred  my  company  to  father's ; 
because  "  —  she  hesitated  a  moment  —  "  be 
cause  they  spoke  not  of  politics,  but  —  of 
—  that  which  lads  mainly  talk  of  —  and  — 
and,"  —  here  she  broke  down  a  little,  —  "  and 


THANKFUL  BLOSSOM.  89 

the  baron  I  only  saw  once,  but  he" — here 
she  broke  down  utterly  —  "I  know  they 
weren't  spies  :  there,  now  !  " 

"  I  must  ask  you  something  more,"  said 
Washington,  with  grave  kindness  :  "  whether 
you  give  me  the  information  or  not,  you  will 
consider,  that,  if  what  you  believe  is  true,  it 
cannot  in  any  way  injure  the  gentlemen  you 
speak  of ;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  it  may 
relieve  your  father  of  suspicion.  Will  you 
give  to  Col.  Hamilton,  my  secretary,  a  full 
description  of  them,  —  that  fuller  description 
which  Capt.  Brewster,  for  reasons  best  known 
to  yourself,  was  unable  to  give  ?  " 

Mistress  Thankful  hesitated  for  a  moment, 
and  then,  with  one  of  her  truthful  glances 
at  the  commander-in-chief,  began  a  detailed 
account  of  the  outward  semblance  of  the 
count.  Why  she  began  with  him,  I  am  un 
able  to  say ;  but  possibly  it  was  because  it 


Cp  THANKFUL  BLOSSOM. 

was  easier,  for  when  she  came  to  describe  the 
baron,  she  was,  I  regret  to  say,  somewhat 
vague  and  figurative.  Not  so  vague,  however, 
but  that  Col.  Hamilton  suddenly  started  up 
with  a  look  at  his  chief,  who  instantly  checked 
it  with  a  gesture  of  his  ruffled  hand. 

"  I  thank  you,  Mistress  Thankful,"  he  said 
quite  impassively,  "  but  did  this  other  gentle 
man,  this  baron  "  — 

"  Pomposo,"  said  Thankful  proudly.  A 
titter  originated  in  the  group  of  ladies  by  the 
window,  and  became  visible  on  the  fresh  face 
of  Col  Hamilton ;  but  the  dignified  color  of 
Washington's  countenance  was  unmoved. 

"  May  I  ask  if  the  baron  made  an  honorable 
tender  of  his  affections  to  you,"  he  continued, 
with  respectful  gravity,  —  "  if  his  attentions 
were  known  to  your  father,  and  were  such  as 
honest  Mistress  Blossom  could  receive  ?  " 

"  Father  introduced  him  to  me,  and  wanted 


THANKFUL  BLOSSOM.  9 1 

me  to  be  kind  to  him.  He  —  he  kissed  me, 
and  I  slapped  his  face,"  said  Thankful  quick 
ly,  with  cheeks  as  red,  I  warrant,  as  the 
baron's  might  have  been. 

The  moment  the  words  had  escaped  her 
truthful  lips,  she  would  have  given  her  life 
to  recall  them.  To  her  astonishment,  how 
ever,  Col.  Hamilton  laughed  outright,  and  the 
ladies  turned  and  approached  her,  but  were 
checked  by  a  slight  gesture  from  the  other 
wise  impassive  figure  of  the  general. 

"  It  is  possible,  Mistress  Thankful,"  he 
resumed,  with  undisturbed  composure,  "  that 
one  at  least  of  these  gentlemen  may  be 
known  to  us,  and  that  your  instincts  may  be 
correct.  At  least  rest  assured  that  we  shall 
fully  inquire  into  it,  and  that  your  father  shall 
have  the  benefit  of  that  inquiry." 

"  I  thank  your  Excellency,"  said  Thankful, 
still  reddening  under  the  contemplation  of 


92  THANKFUL  BLOSSOM. 

her  own  late  frankness,  and  retreating  toward 
the  door.  "I  —  think  —  I  —  must  —  go  — 
now.  It  is  late,  and  I  have  far  to  ride." 

To  her  surprise,  however,  Washington 
stepped  forward,  and,  again  taking  her  hands 
in  his,  said  with  a  grave  smile,  "  For  that  very 
reason,  if  for  none  other,  you  must  be  our 
guest  to-night,  Mistress  Thankful  Blossom. 
We  still  retain  our  Virginian  ideas  of  hospi 
tality,  and  are  tyrannous  enough  to  make 
strangers  conform  to  them,  even  though  we 
have  but  perchance  the  poorest  of  entertain 
ment  to  offer  them.  Lady  Washington  will 
not  permit  Mistress  Thankful  Blossom  to 
leave  her  roof  to-night  until  she  has  partaken 
of  her  courtesy  as  well  as  her  counsel." 

"  Mistress  Thankful  Blossom  will  make  us 
believe  that  she  has  at  least  in  so  far  trusted 
our  desire  to  serve  her  justly,  by  accepting 
our  poor  hospitality  for  a  single  night,"  said 
Lady  Washington,  with  a  stately  courtesy. 


THANKFUL  BLOSSOM.  93 

Thankful  Blossom  still  stood  irresolutely  at 
the  door.  But  the  next  moment  a  pair  of 
youthful  arms  encircled  her ;  and  the  younger 
gentlewoman,  looking  into  her  brown  eyes 
with  an  honest  frankness  equal  to  her  own, 
said  caressingly,  "  Dear  Mistress  Thankful, 
though  I  am  but  a  guest  in  her  ladyship's 
house,  let  me,  I  pray  yon,  add  my  voice  to 
hers.  I  am  Mistress  Schuyler  of  Albany, 
at  your  service,  Mistress  Thankful,  as  Col. 
Hamilton  here  will  bear  me  witness,  did  I 
need  any  interpreter  to  your  honest  heart. 
Believe  me,  dear  Mistress  Thankful,  I  sym 
pathize  with  you,  and  only  beg  you  to  give 
me  an  opportunity  to-night  to  serve  you. 
You  will  stay,  I  know,  and  you  will  stay  with 
me ;  and  we  shall  talk  over  the  faithlessness 
of  that  over-jealous  Yankee  captain  who  has 
proved  himself,  I  doubt  not,  as  unworthy  of 
you  as  he  is  of  his  country." 


94  THANKFUL  BLOSSOM. 

Hateful  to  Thankful  as  was  the  idea  of 
being  commiserated,  she  nevertheless  could 
not  resist  the  gentle  courtesy  and  gracious 
sympathy  of  Miss  Schuyler.  Besides,  it  must 
be  confessed  that  for  the  first  time  in  her  life 
she  felt  a  doubt  of  the  power  of  her  own  inde 
pendence,  and  a  strange  fascination  for  this 
young  gentlewoman  whose  arms  were  around 
her,  who  could  so  thoroughly  sympathize  with 
her,  and  yet  allow  herself  to  be  snubbed  by 
Lady  Washington. 

"  You  have  a  mother,  I  doubt  not  ?  "  said 
Thankful,  raising  her  questioning  eyes  to 
Miss  Schuyler. 

Irrelevant  as  this  question  seemed  to  the 
two  gentlemen,  Miss  Schuyler  answered  it 
with  feminine  intuition  :  "  And  you,  dear 
Mistress  Thankful  "  — 

"  Have  none,"  said  Thankful ;  and  here,  I 
regret  to  say,  she  whimpered  slightly,  at 


THANKFUL  BLOSSOM.  95 

which  Miss  Schuyler,  with  tears  in  her  own 
fine  eyes,  bent  her  head  suddenly  to  Thank 
ful' s  ear,  put  her  arm  about  the  waist  of  the 
pretty  stranger,  and  then,  to  the  astonish 
ment  of  Col.  Hamilton,  quietly  swept  her 
out  of  the  august  presence. 

When  the  door  had  closed  upon  tnem,  Col. 
Hamilton  turned  half-smilingly,  half -inquir 
ingly,  to  his  chief.  Washington  returned  his 
glance  kindly  but  gravely,  and  then  said 
quietly,  — 

"  If  your  suspicions  jump  with  mine,  col 
onel,  I  need  not  remind  you  that  it  is  a  mat 
ter  so  delicate  that  it  would  be  as  well  if  you 
locked  it  in  your  own  breast  for  the  present ; 
at  least,  that  you  should  not  intimate  to  the 
gentleman  whom  you  may  have  suspected, 
aught  that  has  passed  this  evening." 

"  As  you  will,  general,"  said  the  subaltern 
respectfully ;  "  but  may  I  ask  "  —  he  hesitated 


THANKFUL  BLOSSOM. 


—  "  if  you  believe  that  any  thing  more  than  a 
passing  fancy  for  a  pretty  girl  "  — 

"  When  I  asked  your  silence,  colonel," 
interrupted  Washington  kindly,  laying  his 
hand  upon  the  shoulder  of  the  younger  man, 
"  it  was  because  I  thought  the  matter  suffi 
ciently  momentous  to  claim  my  own  private 
and  especial  attention." 

"  I  ask  your  Excellency's  pardon,"  said  the 
young  man,  reddening  through  his  fresh  com 
plexion  like  a  girl  ;  "  I  only  meant  "  — 

"That  you  would  ask  to  be  relieved 
to-night,"  interrupted  Washington,  with  a 
benign  smile,  "  forasmuch  as  you  wished 
the  more  to  show  entertainment  to  our  dear 
friend  Miss  Schuyler,  and  her  guest  ;  a  way 
ward  girl,  colonel,  but,  methinks,  an  honest 
one.  Treat  her  of  your  own  quality,  col 
onel,  but  discreetly,  and  not  too  kindly,  lest 
we  have  Mistress  Schuyler,  another  injured 


THANKFUL  BLOSSOM.  97 

damsel,  on  our  hands  ;"  and  with  a  half  play 
ful  gesture  peculiar  to  the  man,  and  yet  not 
inconsistent  with  his  dignity,  he  half  led,  half 
pushed  his  youthful  secretary  from  the  room. 

When  the  door  had  closed  upon  the  col 
onel,  Lady  Washington  rustled  toward  her 
husband,  who  stood  still,  quiet  and  passive, 
on  the  hearthstone. 

"  You  surely  see  in  this  escapade  nothing 
of  political  intrigue  —  no  treachery  ? "  she 
said  hastily. 

"  No,"  said  Washington  quietly. 

"  Nothing  more  than  an  idle,  wanton 
intrigue  with  a  foolish,  vain  country  girl  ?  " 

"  Pardon  me,  my  lady,"  said  Washington 
gravely.  "  I  doubt  not  we  may  misjudge  her. 
'Tis  no  common  rustic  lass  that  can  thus  stir 
the  country  side.  'Twcre  an  insult  to  your 
sex  to  believe  it.  It  is  not  yet  sure  that  she 
has  net  captured  even  so  high  game  as  she 


98  THANKFUL  BLOSSOM. 

has  named.  If  she  has,  it  would  add  another 
interest  to  a  treaty  of  comity  and  alliance." 

"That  creature!"  said  Lady  Washing 
ton, —  "that  light-o'-love  with  her  Connecti 
cut  captain  lover !  Pardon  me,  but  this  is 
preposterous  ; "  and  with  a  stiff  courtesy  she 
swept  from  the  room,  leaving  the  central 
figure  of  history  —  as  such  central  figures 
are  apt  to  be  left  —  alone. 

Later  in  the  evening  Mistress  Schuyler 
so  far  subdued  the  tears  and  emotions  of 
Thankful,  that  she  was  enabled  to  dry  her 
eyes,  and  re-arrange  her  brown  hair  in  the 
quaint  little  mirror  in  Mistress  Schuyler's 
chamber ;  Mistress  Schuyler  herself  lending 
a  touch  and  suggestion  here  and  there,  after 
the  secret  freemasonry  of  her  sex.  "  You 
are  well  rid  of  this  forsworn  captain,  dear 
Mistress  Thankful;  and  methinks  that  with 
hair  as  beautiful  as  yours,  the  new  style  of 


THANKFUL  BLOSSOM.  99 

wearing  it,  though  a  modish  frivolity,  is  most 
becoming.  I  assure  you  'tis  much  affected 
in  New  York  and  Philadelphia,  —  drawn 
straight  back  from  the  forehead,  after  this 
manner,  as  you  see." 

The  result  was,  that  an  hour  later  Mis 
tress  Schuyler  and  Mistress  Blossom  pre 
sented  themselves  to  Col.  Hamilton  in  the 
reception-room,  with  a  certain  freshness  and 
elaboration,  of  toilet  that  not  only  quite 
shamed  the  young  officer's  affaire  negligence, 
but  caused  him  to  open  his  eyes  in  astonish 
ment.  "  Perhaps  she  would  rather  be  alone, 
that  she  might  indulge  her  grief,"  he  said 
doubtingly,  in  an  aside  to  Miss  Schuyler, 
"  rather  than  appear  in  company." 

"Nonsense,"  quoth  Mistress  Schuyler.  "Is 
a  young  woman  to  mope  and  sigh  because 
her  lover  proves  false  ? " 

"  But  her  father  is  a  prisoner,"  said  Hamil 
ton  in  amazement. 


IOO  THANKFUL   BLOSSOM. 

"  Can  you  look  me  in  the  face,"  said  Mis 
tress  Schuyler  mischievously,  "  and  tell  me 
that  you  don't  know  that  in  twenty-four 
hours  her  father  will  be  cleared  of  these 
charges  ?  Nonsense  !  Do  you  think  I  have 
no  eyes  in  my  head  ?  Do  you  think  I  mis- 
read  the  general's  face  and  your  own  ? " 

"  But,  my  dear  girl,"  said  the  officer  in 
alarm. 

"Oh!  I  told  her  so,  but  not  why? 
responded  Miss  Schuyler  with  a  wicked 
look  in  her  dark  eyes,  "  though  I  had  war 
rant  enough  to  do  so,  to  serve  you  for  keep 
ing  a  secret  from  me!" 

And  with  this  Parthian  shot  she  returned 
to  Mistress  Thankful,  who,  with  her  face 
pressed  against  the  window,  was  looking  out 
on  the  moonlit  slope  beside  the  Whippany 
River. 

For,  by  one  of  those  freaks  peculiar  to  the 


THANKFUL  BLOSSOM.  IOI 

American  springtide,  the  weather  had  again 
marvellously  changed.  The  rain  had  ceased, 
and  the  ground  was  covered  with  an  icing  of 
sleet  and  snow,  that  now  glittered  under  a 
clear  sky  and  a  brilliant  moon.  The  north 
east  wind  that  shook  the  loose  sashes-  of  the 
windows  had  transformed  each  dripping  tree 
and  shrub  to  icy  stalactites  that  silvered 
under  the  moon's  cold  touch. 

"  'Tis  a  beautiful  sight,  ladies,"  said  a  bluff, 
hearty,  middle-aged  man,  joining  the  group 
by  the  window.  "  Put  God  send  the  spring 
to  us  quickly,  and  spare  us  any  more  such 
cruel  changes !  My  lady  moon  looks  fine 
enough,  glittering  in  yonder  treetops  ;  but  I 
doubt  not  she  looks  down  upon  'many  a  poor 
fellow  shivering  under  his  tattered  blankets 
in  the  camp  beyond.  Had  ye  seen  the  Con 
necticut  tatterdemalions  file  by  last  night, 
with  arms  reversed,  showing  their  teeth  at 


102  THANKFUL  BLOSSOM. 

his  Excellency,  and  yet  not  daring  to  bite ; 
had  ye  watched  these  faint-hearts,  these 
doubting  Thomases,  ripe  for  rebellion  against 
his  Excellency,  against  the  cause,  but  chiefly 
against  the  weather,  —  ye  would  pray  for  a 
thaw  that  would  melt  the  hearts  of  these  men 
as  it  would  these  stubborn  fields  around  us. 
Two  weeks  more  of  such  weather  would  raise 
up  not  one  Allan  Brewster,  but  a  dozen  such 
malecontent  puppies  ripe  for  a  drum-head 
court-martial." 

"  Yet  'tis  a  fine  night,  Gen.  Sullivan,"  said 
Col.  Hamilton,  sharply  nudging  the  ribs  of 
his  superior  officer  with  his  elbow.  "  There 
would  be  little  trouble  on  such  a  night,  I 
fancy,  to  track  our  ghostly  visitant."  Both 
of  the  ladies  becoming  interested,  and  Col. 
Hamilton  having  thus  adroitly  turned  the 
flank  of  his  superior  officer,  he  went  on : 
"  You  should  know  that  the  camp,  and  indeed 


THANKFUL   BLOSSOM.  1 03 

the  whole  locality  here,  is  said  to  be  haunted 
by  the  apparition  of  a  gray-coated  figure, 
whose  face  is  muffled  and  hidden  in  his  collar, 
but  who  has  the  password  pat  to  his  lips,  and 
whose  identity  hath  baffled  the  sentries.  This 
figure,  it  is  said,  forasmuch  as  it  has  been 
seen  just  before  an  assault,  an  attack,  or  some 
tribulation  of  the  army,  is  believed  by  many 
to  be  the  genius  or  guardian  spirit  of  the 
cause,  and,  as  such,  has  incited  sentries  and 
guards  to  greater  vigilance,  and  has  to  some 
seemed  a  premonition  of  disaster.  Before 
the  last  outbreak  of  the  Connecticut  militia, 
Master  Graycoat  haunted  the  outskirts  of 
the  weather-beaten  and  bedraggled  camp,  and, 
I  doubt  not,  saw  much  of  that  preparation 
that  sent  that  regiment  of  faint-hearted  onion- 
gatherers  to  flaunt  their  woes  and  their 
wrongs  in  the  face  of  the  general  himself." 
Here  Col.  Hamilton,  in  turn,  received  a  slight 


IO4  THANKFUL  BLOSSOM. 

nudge  from  Mistress  Schuyler,  and  ended  his 
speech  somewhat  abruptly. 

Mistress  Thankful  was  not  unmindful  of 
both  these  allusions  to  her  faithless  lover,  but 
only  a  consciousness  of  mortification  and 
wounded  pride  was  awakened  by  them.  In 
fact,  during  the  first  tempest  of  her  indigna 
tion  at  his  arrest,  still  later  at  the  arrest  of 
her  father,  and  finally  at  the  discovery  of  his 
perfidy  to  her,  she  had  forgotten  that  he  was 
her  lover ;  she  had  forgotten  her  previous 
tenderness  toward  him ;  and,  now  that  her 
fire  and  indignation  were  spent,  only  a  sense 
of  numbness  and  vacancy  remained.  All  that 
had  gone  before  seemed  not  something  to  be 
regretted  as  her  own  act,  but  rather  as  the 
act  of  another  Thankful  Blossom,  who  had 
been  lost  that  night  in  the  snow-storm :  she 
felt  she  had  become,  within  the  last  twenty- 
four  hours,  not  perhaps  another  woman,  but 
for  the  first  time  a  woman. 


THANKFUL  BLOSSOM.  105 


Yet  it  was  singular  that  she  felt  more  con 
fused  when,  a  few  moments  later,  the  conver 
sation  turned  upon  Major  Van  Zandt :  it  was 
still  more  singular  that  she  even  felt  consider 
ably  frightened  at  that  confusion.  Finally 
she  found  herself  listening  with  alternate 
irritability,  shame,  and  curiosity,  to  praises  of 
that  gentleman,  of  his  courage,  his  devotion, 
and  his  personal  graces.  For  one  wild  mo 
ment  Thankful  felt  like  throwing  herself  on 
the  breast  of  Mistress  Schuyler,  and  confess 
ing  her  rudeness  to  the  major  ;  but  a  convic 
tion  that  Mistress  Schuyler  would  share  that 
secret  with  Col.  Hamilton,  that  Major  Van 
Zandt  might  not  like  that  revelation,  and, 
oddly  enough  associated  with  this,  a  feeling 
of  unconquerable  irritability  toward  that 
handsome  and  gentle  young  officer,  kept  her 
mouth  closed.  "  Besides,"  she  said  to  her 
self,  "  he  ought  to  know,  if  he's  such  a  fine 


IO6  THANKFUL  BLOSSOM. 

gentleman  as  they  say,  just  how  I  was  feel 
ing,  and  that  I  didn't  mean  any  rudeness  to 
him  ; "  and  with  this  unanswerable  feminine 
logic  poor  Thankful  to  some  extent  stilled 
her  own  honest  little  heart. 

But  not,  I  fear,  entirely.  The  night  was  a 
restless  one  to  her :  like  all  impulsive  natures, 
the  season  of  reflection,  and  perhaps  distrust, 
came  to  her  upon  acts  that  were  already  com 
mitted,  and  when  reason  seemed  to  light  the 
way  only  to  despair.  She  saw  the  folly  of 
her  intrusion  at  the  headquarters,  as  she 
thought,  only  when  it  was  too  laie  to  remedy 
it ;  she  saw  the  gracelessness  and  discourtesy 
of  her  conduct  to  Major  Van  Zandt,  only 
when  distance  and  time  rendered  an  apology 
weak  and  ineffectual.  I  think  she  cried  a 
little  to  herself,  lying  in  the  strange  gloomy 
chamber  of  the  healthfully  sleeping  Mistress 
Schuyler,  the  sweet  security  of  whose  mani- 


THANKFUL   BLOSSOM.  IO/ 

fcst  goodness  and  kindness  she  alternately 
hated  and  envied ;  and  at  last,  unable  to  stand 
it  longer,  slipped  noiselessly  from  her  bed,  and 
stood  very  wretched  and  disconsolate  before 
the  window  that  looked  out  upon  the  slope 
toward  the  Whippany  River.  The  moon  on 
the  new-fallen,  frigid,  and  untrodden  snow 
shone  brightly.  Far  to  the  left  it  glittered 
on  the  bayonet  of  a  sentry  pacing  beside  the 
river-bank,  and  gave  a-  sense  of  security  to 
the  girl  that  perhaps  strengthened  another 
idea  that  had  grown  up  in  her  mind.  Since 
she  could  not  sleep,  why  should  she  not  ram 
ble  about  until  she  could?  She  had  been 
accustomed  to  roam  about  the  farm  in  all 
weathers  and  at  all  times  and  seasons.  She 
recalled  to  herself  the  night  —  a  tempestuous 
one — when  she  had  risen  in  serious  concern 
as  to  the  lying-in  of  her  favorite  Alderney 
heifer,  and  how  she  had  saved  the  life  of  the 


IOS  THANKFUL  BLOSSOM. 

calf,  a  weakling,  dropped  apparently  from 
the  clouds  in  the  tempest,  as  it  lay  beside  the 
barn.  With  this  in  her  mind,  she  donned  her 
clress  again,  and,  with  Mistress  Schuylcr's 
mantle  over  her  shoulders,  noiselessly  crept 
down  the  narrow  staircase,  passed  the  sleep 
ing  servant  on  the  settee,  and,  opening  the 
rear  door,  in  another  moment  was  inhaling 
the  crisp  air,  and  tripping  down  the  crisp 
snow  of  the  hillside. 

But  Mistress  Thankful  had  overlooked  cne 
difference  between  her  own  farm  and  a  mili 
tary  encampment.  She  had  not  proceeded  a 
dozen  yards  before  a  figure  apparently  started 
out  of  the  ground  beneath  her,  and,  levelling 
a  bayoneted  musket  across  her  path,  called, 
"  Halt ! " 

The  hot  blood  mounted  to  the  girl's  cheek 
at  the  first  imperative  command  she  had  ever 
received  in  her  life :  nevertheless  she  halted 


THANKFUL  BLOSSOM.  IOQ 

unconsciously,  and  without  a  word  confronted 
the  challenger  with  her  old  audacity. 

"  Who  comes  there  ?  "  reiterated  the  sentry, 
still  keeping  his  bayonet  level  with  her 
breast. 

"  Thankful  Blossom,"  she  responded 
promptly. 

The  sentry  brought  his  musket  to  a 
"  present."  "  Pass,  Thankful  Blossom,  and 
God  send  it  soon  and  the  spring  with  it, 
and  good-night,"  he  said,  with  a  strong  Mile 
sian  accent.  And  before  the  still-amazed 
girl  coulcl  comprehend  the  meaning  of  his 
abrupt  challenge,  or  his  equally  abrupt  depar 
ture,  he  had  resumed  his  monotonous  pace 
in  the  moonlight.  Indeed,  as  she  stood 
looking  after  him,  the  whole  episode,  the  odd 
unreality  of  the  moonlit  landscape,  the  nov 
elty  of  her  position,  the  morbid  play  of  her 
thoughts,  seemed  to  make  it  part  of  a  dream 


110  THANKFUL  BLOSSOM. 

which  the  morning  light  might  dissipate,  but 
could  never  fully  explain. 

With  something  of  this  feeling  still  upon 
her,  she  kept  her  way  to  the  river.  Its  banks 
were  still  fringed  with  ice,  through  which  its 
dark  current  flowed  noiselessly.  She  knew 
it  flowed  through  the  camp  where  lay  her 
faithless  lover,  and  for  an  instant  indulged 
the  thought  of  following  it,  and  facing  him 
with  the  proof  of  his  guilt ;  but  even  at  the 
thought  she  recoiled  with  a  new  and  sudden 
doubt  in  herself,  and  stood  dreamily  watching 
the  shimmer  of  the  moon  on  the  icy  banks, 
until  another,  and,  it  seemed  to  her,  equally 
unreal  vision  suddenly  stayed  her  feet,  and 
drove  the  blood  from  her  feverish  cheeks. 

A  figure  was  slowly  approaching  from  the 
direction  of  the  sleeping  encampment.  Tall, 
erect,  and  habited  in  a  gray  surtout,  with  a 
hood  partially  concealing  its  face,  it  was  the 


A    FIGURE   WAS   SLOWLY    APPROACHINC 


THANKFUL  BLOSSOM.  Ill 

counterfeit  presentment  of  the  ghostly  visi 
tant  she  had  heard  described.  Thankful 
scarcely  breathed.  The  brave  little  heart 
that  had  not  quailed  before  the  sentry's 
levelled  musket  a  moment  before  now  fal 
tered  and  stood  still,  as  the  phantom  with  a 
slow  and  majestic  tread  moved  toward  her. 
She  had  only  time  to  gain  the  shelter  of  a 
tree  before  the  figure,  majestically  uncon 
scious  of  her  presence,  passed  slowly  by. 
Through  all  her  terror  Thankful  was  still 
true  to  a  certain  rustic  habit  of  practical 
perception  to  observe  that  the  tread  of  the 
phantom  was  quite  audible  over  the  crust  of 
snow,  and  was  visible  and  palpable  as  the 
imprint  of  a  military  boot. 

The  blood  came  back  to  Thankful's  cheek, 
and  with  it  her  old  audacity.  In  another 
instant  she  was  out  from  the  tree,  and  track 
ing  with  a  light  feline  tread  the  apparition 


112  THANKFUL  BLOSSOM. 

that  now  loomed  up  the  hill  before  her. 
Slipping  from  tree  to  tree,  she  followed  until 
it  passed  before  the  door  of  a  low  hut  or 
farm-shed  that  stood  midway  up  the  hill. 
Here  it  entered,  and  the  door  closed  behind 
it.  With  every  sense  feverishly  alert, 
Thankful,  from  the  secure  advantage  of  a 
large  maple,  watched  the  door  of  the  hut. 
In  a  few  moments  it  re-opened  to  the  same 
figure  free  of  its  gray  enwrappings.  Forget 
ful  of  every  thing  now,  but  detecting  the  face 
of  the  impostor,  the  fearless  girl  left  the  tree, 
and  placed  herself  directly  in  the  path  of  the 
figure.  At  the  same  moment  it  turned 
toward  her  inquiringly,  and  the  moonlight 
fell  full  upon  the  calm,  composed  features  of 
Gen.  Washington. 

In  her  consternation  Thankful  could  only 
drop  an  embarrassed  courtesy,  and  hang  out 
two  lovely  signals  of  distress  in  her  cheeks. 


THANKFUL  BLOSSOM.  113 

The  face  of  the  pseudo  ghost  alone  remained 
unmoved. 

"  You  are  wandering  late,  Mistress  Thank 
ful,"  he  said  at  last,  with  a  paternal  gravity ; 
"  and  I  fear  that  the  formal  restraint  of  a 
military  household  has  already  given  you 
some  embarrassment.  Yonder  sentry,  for 
instance,  might  have  stopped  you." 

"  Oh,  he  did  !  "  said  Thankful  quickly ;  "  but 
it's  all  right,  please  your  Excellency.  "  He 
asked  me  '  Who  went  there,'  and  I  told  him  ; 
and  he  was  vastly  polite,  I  assure  you." 

The  grave  features  of  the  commander-in- 
chief  relaxed  in  a  smile.  "You  are  more 
happy  than  most  of  your  sex  in  turning  a 
verbal  compliment  to  practical  account.  For 
know  then,  dear  young  lady,  that  in  honor  of 
your  visit  to  the  headquarters,  the  password 
to-night  through  this  encampment  was  none 
other  than  your  own  pretty  patronymic,  — • 
'Thankful  Blossom.'" 


114  THANKFUL  BLOSSOM. 

The  tears  glittered  in  the  girl's  eyes,  and 
her  lip  trembled  ;  but,  with  all  her  readiness 
of  speech,  she  could  only  say,  "  Oh,  your 
Excellency  ! " 

"  Then  you  did  pass  the  sentry  ? "  con 
tinued  Washington,  looking  at  her  intently 
with  a  certain  grave  watchfulness  in  his  gray 
eyes.  "  And  doubtless  you  wandered  at  the 
river-bank.  Although  I  myself,  tempted  by 
the  night,  sometimes  extend  my  walk  as  far 
as  yonder  shed,  it  were  a  hazardous  act  for  a 
young  lady  to  pass  beyond  the  protection  of 
the  line." 

"  Oh !  I  met  no  one,  your  Excellency,"  said 
the  usually  truthful  Thankful  hastily,  rushing 
to  her  first  lie  with  grateful  impetuosity. 

"  And  saw  no  one  ? "  asked  Washington 
quietly. 

"  No  one,"  said  Thankful,  raising  her 
brown  eyes  to  the  general's. 


THANKFUL  BLOSSOM.  1 15 

They  both  looked  at  each  other,  —  the  natu 
rally  most  veracious  young  woman  in  the 
colonies,  and  the  subsequent  allegorical  imper 
sonation  of  truth  in  America,  —  and  knew 
each  other  lied,  and,  I  imagine,  respected 
each  other  for  it. 

"I  am  glad  to  hear  you  say  so,  Mistress 
Thankful,"  said  Washington  quietly;  "for 
'twould  have  been  natural  for  you  to  have 
sought  an  interview  with  your  recreant  lover 
in  yonder  camp,  though  the  attempt  would 
have  been  unwise  and  impossible." 

"  I  had  no  such  thought,  your  Excellency," 
said  Thankful,  who  had  really  quite  forgotten 
her  late  intention  ;  "yet,  if  with  your  permis 
sion  I  could  hold  a  few  moments'  converse 
with  Capt.  Brewster,  it  would  greatly  ease  my 
mind." 

"  'T would  not  be  well  for  the  present,"  said 
Washington  thoughtfully.  "  But  in  a  day  or 


Il6  THANKFUL  BLOSSOM. 

two  Capt.  Brewster  will  be  tried  by  court- 
martial  at  Morristown.  It  shall  be  so  ordered 
that  when  he  is  conveyed  thither  his  guard 
shall  halt  at  the  Blossom  Farm.  I  will  see 
that  the  officer  in  command  gives  you  an 
opportunity  to  see  him.  And  I  think  I  can 
promise  also,  Mistress  Thankful,  that  your 
father  shall  be  also  present  under  his  own 
roof,  a  free  man." 

They  had  reached  the  entrance  to  the  man 
sion,  and  entered  the  hall.  Thankful  turned 
impulsively,  and  kissed  the  extended  hand  of 
the  commander.  "  You  are  so  good  !  I  have 
been  so  foolish  —  so  very,  very  wrong,"  she 
said,  with  a  slight  trembling  of  her  lip. 
"  And  your  Excellency  believes  my  story ; 
and  those  gentlemen  were  not  spies,  but  even 
as  they  gave  themselves  to  be." 

"  I  said  not  that  much,"  replied  Washing 
ton  with  a  kindly  smile,  "  but  no  matter. 


THANKFUL  BLOSSOM.  1 1/ 

Tell  me  rather,  Mistress  Thankful,  how  far 
your  acquaintance  with  these  gentlemen  has 
gone  ;  or  did  it  end  with  the  box  on  the  ear 
that  you  gave  the  baron  ?  " 

"  He  had  asked  me  to  ride  with  him  to  the 
Baskingridge,  and  I  —  had  said  —  yes,"  fal 
tered  Mistress  Thankful. 

"  Unless  I  misjudge  you,  Mistress  Thank 
ful,  you  can  without  great  sacrifice  promise 
me  that  you  will  not  see  him  until  I  give  you 
my  permission,"  said  Washington,  with  grave 
playfulness. 

The  swinging  light  shone  full  in  Thankful's 
truthful  eyes  as  she  lifted  them  to  his. 

"  I  do,"  she  said  quietly. 

"  Good-night,"  said  the  commander,  with  a 
formal  bow. 

"  Good-night,  your  Excellency." 


PART  IV. 


IV. 


sun  was  high  over  the  Short  Hills 
-"-  when  Mistress  Thankful,  the  next  day, 
drew  up  her  sweating  mare  beside  the  Blos 
som  Farm  gate.  She  had  never  looked  pret 
tier,  she  had  never  felt  more  embarrassed,  as 
she  entered  her  own  house.  During  her 
rapid  ride  she  had  already  framed  a  speech 
of  apology  to  Major  Van  Zandt,  which,  how 
ever,  utterly  fled  from  her  lips  as  that  officer 
showed  himself  respectfully  on  the  threshold. 
Yet  she  permitted  him  to  usurp  the  functions 
of  the  grinning  Caesar,  and  help  her  from  her 
horse  ;  albeit  she  was  conscious  of  exhibiting 
the  awkward  timidity  of  a  bashful  rustic,  until 
at  last,  with  a  stammering  "  Thank  ye,"  she 


122  TPIANKFUL  BLOSSOM. 

actually  ran   up  stairs   to   hide   her  glowing 
face  and  far  too  conscious  eyelids. 

During  the  rest  of  that  day  Major  Van 
Zandt  quietly  kept  out  of  her  way,  without 
obtrusively  seeming  to  avoid  her.  Yet,  when 
they  met  casually  in  the  performance  of  her 
household  duties,  the  innocent  Mistress 
Thankful  noticed,  under  her  downcast  peni 
tential  eyelids,  that  the  eyes  of  the  officer 
followed  her  intently.  And  thereat  she  fell 
unconsciously  to  imitating  him ;  and  so  they 
eyed  each  other  furtively  like  cats,  and 
rubbed  themselves  along  the  walls  of  rooms 
and  passages  when  they  met,  lest  they  should 
seem  designedly  to  come  near  each  other, 
and  enacted  the  gravest  and  most  formal  of 
genuflexions,  courtesies,  and  bows,  when  they 
accidentally  did  meet.  And  just  at  the  close 
of  the  second  day,  as  the  elegant  Major  Van 
Zandt  was  feeling  himself  fast  becoming  a 


THANKFUL  BLOSSOM. 


drivelling  idiot  and  an  awkward  country 
booby,  the  arrival  of  a  courier  from  head 
quarters  saved  that  gentleman  his  self-respect 
forever. 

Mistress  Thankful  was  in  her  sitting-room 
when  he  knocked  at  the  door.  She  opened  it 
in  sudden,  conscious  trepidation. 

"  I  ask  pardon  for  intruding,  Mistress 
Thankful  Blossom,"  he  said  gravely;  "but 
I  have  here  "  —  he  held  out  a  pretentious 
document  —  "a  letter  for  you  from  head 
quarters.  May  I  hope  that  it  contains  good 
news,  —  the  release  of  your  father,  —  and  that 
it  relieves  you  from  my  presence,  and  an 
espionage  which  I  assure  you  cannot  be  more 
unpleasant  to  you  than  it  has  been  to  my 
self." 

As  he  entered  the  room,  Thankful  had 
risen  to  her  feet  with  the  full  intention  of 
delivering  to  him  her  little  set  apology  ;  but, 


124  THANKFUL  BLOSSOM. 

as  he  ended  his  speech,  she  looked  at  him 
blankly,  and  burst  out  crying. 

Of  course  he  was  in  an  instant  at  her  side, 
and  holding  her  cold  little  hand.  Then  she 
managed  to  say,  between  her  tears,  that  she 
had  been  wanting  to  make  an  apology  to  him  ; 
that  she  had  wanted  to  say  ever  since  she 
arrived  that  she  had  been  rude,  very  rude, 
and  that  she  knew  he  never  could  forgive  her  ; 
that  she  had  been  trying  to  say  that  she  never 
could  forget  his  gentle  forbearance :  "  only," 
she  added,  suddenly  raising  her  tear-fringed 
brown  lido  to  the  astonished  man,  "you 
wouldn't  ever  let  me  !  " 

"Dear  Mistress  Thankful,"  said  the  major, 
in  conscience-stricken  horror,  "  if  I  have  made 
myself  distant  to  you,  believe  me  it  was  only 
because  I  feared  to  intrude  upon  your  sorrow. 
I  really  —  dear  Mistress  Thankful  —  I  "  — 

"  When  you  took  all  the  pains  to  go  round 


THANKFUL  BLOSSOM.  125 

the  hall  instead  of  through  the  dining-room, 
lest  I  should  ask  you  to  forgive  me,"  sobbed 
Mistress  Thankful,  "I  thought  —  you  —  must 
—  hate  me,  and  preferred  to"  — 

"Perhaps  this  letter  may  mitigate  your 
sorrow,  Mistress  Thankful,"  said  the  officer, 
pointing  to  the  letter  she  still  held  uncon 
sciously  in  her  hand. 

With  a  blush  at  her  pre-occupation,  Thank 
ful  opened  the  letter.  It  was  a  half-official 
document,  and  ran  as  follows  :  — 

"  The  Commander-in-Chief  is  glad  to  inform  Mis 
tress  Thankful  Blossom  that  the  charges  preferred 
against  her  father  have,  upon  fair  examination,  been 
found  groundless  and  trivial.  The  Commander-in- 
Chief  further  begs  to  inform  Mistress  Blossom  that 
the  gentleman  known  to  her  under  the  name  of  the 
'  Biron  Pomposo,'  was  his  Excellency  Don  Juan  Mo 
rales,  Ambassador  and  Envoy  Extraordinary  of  the 
Court  of  Spain,  and  that  the  gentleman  known  to  her 
as  the  '  Count  Ferdinand,'  was  Senor  Godoy,  Secretary 


126  THANKFUL  BLOSSOM. 

to  the  Embassy.  The  Commander-in-Chief  wishes  to 
add  that  Mistress  Thankful  Blossom  is  relieved  of 
any  further  obligation  of  hospitality  toward  these 
honorable  gentlemen,  as  the  Commander-in-Chief 
regrets  to  record  the  sudden  and  deeply-to-be- 
deplored  death  of  his  Excellency  this  morning  by 
typhoid  fever,  and  the  possible  speedy  return  of  the 
Embassy. 

"  In  conclusion,  the  Commander-in-Chief  wishes  to 
bear  testimony  to  the  Truthfulness,  Intuition,  and 
Discretion  of  Mistress  Thankful  Blossom. 

"  By  order  of  his  Excellency, 

"  Gen.  GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 

"ALEX.  HAMILTON,  Secretary. 

"To    Mistress    THANKFUL    BLOSSOM,    of   Blossom 
Farm." 

Thankful  Blossom  was  silent  for  a  few 
moments,  and  then  raised  her  abashed  eyes 
to  Major  Van  Zandt.  A  single  glance  satis 
fied  her  that  he  knew  nothing  of  the  impos 
ture  that  had  been  practised  upon  her, — 


THANKFUL  BLOSSOM.  I2/ 

knew   nothing   of   the   trap   into   which   her 
vanity  and  self-will  had  led  her. 

"  Dear  Mistress  Thankful,"  said  the  major, 
seeing  the  distress  in  her  face,  "  I  trust  the 
news  is  not  ill.  Surely  I  gathered  from  the 
sergeant  that "  — 

"  What  ? "  said  Thankful,  looking  at  him 
intently. 

"  That  in  twenty-four  hours  at  furthest  your 
father  would  be  free,  and  that  I  should  be 
relieved  "  — 

"  I  know  that  you  are  a-weary  of  your  task, 
major,"  said  Thankful  bitterly:  "rejoice,  then,, 
to  know  your  information  is  correct,  and  that 
my  father  is  exonerated  —  unless  —  unless  this 
is  a  forgery,  and  Gen.  Washington  should  turn 
out  to  be  somebody  else,  and  you  should 
turn  out  to  be  somebody  else  "  —  And  she 
stopped  short,  and  hid  her  wet  eyes  in  the 
window-curtains. 


128  THANKFUL  BLOSSOM. 

"Poor  girl!"  said  Major  Van  Zandt  to 
himself.  "  This  trouble  has  undoubtedly  fren 
zied  her.  Fool  that  I  was  to  lay  up  the  insult 
of  one  that  sorrow  and  excitement  had  bereft 
of  reason  and  responsibility !  'Twere  better 
I  should  retire  at  once,  and  leave  her  to  her 
self,"  and  the  young  man  slowly  retreated 
toward  the  door. 

But  at  this  moment  there  were  alarming 
symptoms  of  distress  in  the  window-curtain  ; 
and  the  major  paused  as  a  voice  from  its  dim 
ity  depths  said  plaintively,  "And  you  are 
going  without  forgiving  me  ! " 

"  Forgive  you,  Mistress  Thankful,"  said  the 
major,  striding  to  the  curtain,  and  seizing  a 
little  hand  that  was  obtruded  from  its  folds, 
— "  forgive  you  ?  rather  can  you  forgive  me 
for  the  folly  —  the  cruelty  of  mistaking —  of 
—  of  "  —  and  here  the  major,  hitherto  famous 
for  facile  compliments,  utterly  broke  down. 


THANKFUL   BLOSSOM.  I2Q 

But  the  hand  he  held  was  no  longer  cold,  but 
warm  and  intelligent ;  and  in  default  of  co 
herent  speech  he  held  fast  by  that  as  the 
thread  of  his  discourse,  until  Mistress  Thank 
ful  quietly  withdrew  it,  thanked  him  for  his 
forgiveness,  and  retired  deeper  behind  the 
curtain. 

When  he  had  gone,  she  threw  herself  in 
a  chair,  and  again  gave  way  to  a  passionate 
flood  of  tears.  In  the  last  twenty-four  hours 
her  pride  had  been  utterly  humbled  :  the  in 
dependent  spirit  of  this  self-willed  little  beau 
ty  had  met  for  the  first  time  with  defeat. 
When  she  had  got  over  her  womanly  shock  at 
the  news  of  the  sham  baron's  death,  she  had, 
I  fear,  only  a  selfish  regret  at  his  taking  off  ; 
believing  that  if  living  he  would  in  some  way 
show  the  world— -  which  just  then  consisted 
of  the  headquarters  and  Major  Van  Zandt  — 
that  he  had  really  made  love  to  her,  and  pos- 


130  THANKFUL  BLOSSOM. 

sibly  did  honorably  love  her  still,  and  might 
yet  give  her  an  opportunity  to  reject  him. 
And  now  he  was  dead,  and  she  was  held  up 
to  the  world  as  the  conceited  plaything  of  a 
fine  gentleman's  masquerading  sport.  That 
her  father's  cupidity  and  ambition  made  him 
sanction  the  imposture,  in  her  bitterness  she 
never  doubted.  No  !  Lover,  friend,  father  — 
all  had  been  false  to  her,  and  the  only  kind 
ness  she  had  received  was  from  the  men  she 
had  wantonly  insulted.  Poor  little  Blossom  ! 
indeed,  a  most  -premature  Blossom  ;  I  fear  a 
most  unthankful  Blossom,  sitting  there  shiv 
ering  in  the  first  chill  wind  of  adversity, 
rocking  backward  and  forward,  with  the  skirt 
of  her  dimity  short-gown  over  her  shoulders, 
and  her  little  buckled  shoes  and  clocked 
stockings  pathetically  crossed  before  her. 

But  healthy  youth   is  re-active  ;  and  in  an 
hour  or  two  Thankful  was  down  at  the  cow- 


THANKFUL  BLOSSOM.  131 

shed,  with  her  arms  around  the  neck  of  her 
favorite  heifer,  to  whom  she  poured  out  much 
of  her  woes,  and  from  whom  she  won  an 
intelligent  sort  of  slobbering  sympathy.  And 
then  she  sharply  scolded  Caesar  for  nothing 
at  all,  and  a  moment  after  returned  to  the 
house  with  the  air  and  face  of  a  deeply 
injured  angel,  who  had  been  disappointed  in 
some  celestial  idea  of  setting  this  world  right, 
but  was  still  not  above  forgiveness,  —  a  spec 
tacle  that  sunk  Major  Van  Zandt  into  the 
dark  depths  of  remorse,  and  eventually  sent 
him  to  smoke  a  pipe  of  Virginia  with  his 
men  in  the  roadside  camp  ;  seeing  which, 
Thankful  went  early  to  bed,  and  cried  herself 
to  sleep.  And  Nature  possibly  followed  her 
example ;  for  at  sunset  a  great  thaw  set  in, 
and  by  midnight  the  freed  rivers  and  brooks 
were  gurgling  melodiously,  and  tree  and 
shrub  and  fence  were  moist  and  dripping. 


132  THANKFUL  BLOSSOM. 

The  red  dawn  at 'last  struggled  through  the 
vaporous  veil  that  hid  the  landscape.  Then 
occurred  one  of  those  magical  changes  pecu 
liar  to  the  climate,  yet  perhaps  pre-eminently 
notable  during  that  historic  winter  and  spring. 
By  ten  o'clock  on  that  3d  of  May,  1780,  a 
fervent  June-like  sun  had  rent  that  vaporous 
veil,  and  poured  its  direct  rays  upon  the 
gaunt  and  haggard  profile  of  the  Jersey  hills. 
The  chilled  soil  responded  but  feebly  to  that 
kiss  ;  perhaps  a  few  of  the  willows  that 
yellowed  the  river-banks  took  on  a  deeper 
color.  But  the  country  folk  were  certain  that 
spring  had  come  at  last ;  and  even  the  correct 
and  self-sustained  Major  Van  Zandt  came 
running  in  to  announce  to  Mistress  Thankful 
that  one  of  his  men  had  seen  a  violet  in 
the  meadow.  In  another  moment  Mistress 
Thankful  had  donned  her  cloak  and  pattens 
to  view  this  firstling  of  the  laggard  summer. 


THANKFUL  BLOSSOM.  133 

It  was  quite  natural  that  Major  Van  Zandt 
should  accompany  her  as  she  tripped  on ; 
and  so,  without  a  thought  of  their  past  differ 
ences,  they  ran  like  very  children  down  the 
moist  and  rocky  slope  that  led  to  the  quaggy 
meadow.  Such  was  the  influence  of  the 
vernal  season. 

But  the  violets  were  hidden.  Mistress 
Thankful,  regardless  of  the  wet  leaves  and 
her  new  gown,  groped  with  her  fingers  among 
the  withered  grasses.  Major  Van  Zandt 
leaned  against  a  bowlder,  and  watched  her 
with  admiring  eyes. 

"  You'll  never  find  flowers  that  way,"  she 
said  at  last,  looking  up  to  him  impatiently. 
"  Go  down  on  your  knees  like  an  honest  man. 
There  are  some  things  in  this  world  worth 
stooping  for." 

The  major  instantly  dropped  on  his  knees 
beside  her.  But  at  that  moment  Mistress 


134  THANKFUL  BLOSSOM. 

Thankful  found  her  posies,  and  rose  to  her 

* 

feet.  "  Stay  where  you  are,"  she  said  mis 
chievously,  as  she  stooped  down,  and  placed  a 
flower  in  the  lapel  of  his  coat.  "  That  is  to 
make  amends  for  my  rudeness.  Now  get 
up." 

But  the  major  did  not  rise.  He  caught  the 
two  little  hands  that  had  seemed  to  flutter 
like  birds  against  his  breast,  and,  looking  up 
into  the  laughing  face  above  him,  said,  "  Dear 
Mistress  Thankful,  dare  I  remind  you  of 
your  own  words,  that  '  there  be  some  things 
worth  stooping  for'  ?  Think  of  my  love, 
Mistress  Thankful,  as  a  flower,  —  mayhap 
not  as  gracious  to  you  as  your  violets,  but  as 
honest  and  —  and  —  and  —  as  "  — 

"  Ready  to  spring  up  in  a  single  night," 
laughed  Thankful.  "But  no;  get  up,  major! 
What  would  the  fine  ladies  of  Morristown  say 
of  your  kneeling  at  the  feet  of  a  country  girl, 


THANKFUL  BLOSSOM.  135 

—  the  play  and  sport  of  every  fine  gentle 
man  ?  What  if  Mistress  Bolton  should  see 
her  own  cavalier,  the  modish  Major  Van 
Zandt,  proffering  his  affections  to  the  dis 
graced  sweetheart  of  a  perjured  traitor? 
Leave  go  my  hand,  I  pray  you,  major,  —  if 
you  respect "  — 

She  was  free,  yet  she  faltered  a  moment 
beside  him,  with  tears  quivering  on  her  long 
brown  lashes.  Then  she  said  tremulously, 
"  Rise  up,  major.  Let  us  think  no  more  of 
this.  I  pray  you  forgive  me,  if  I  have  again 
been  rude." 

The  major  struggled  to  rise  to  his  feet. 
But  he  could  not.  And  then  I  regret  to 
have  to  record  that  the  fact  became  obvious 
that  one  of  his  shapely  legs  was  in  a  bog-hole, 
and  that  he  was  perceptibly  sinking  out  of 
sight.  Whereat  Mistress  Thankful  trilled 
out  a  three-syllabled  laugh,  looked  demure 


136  THANKFUL  BLOSSOM. 

and  painfully  concerned  at  his  condition,  and 
then  laughed  again.  The  major  joined  in  her 
mirth,  albeit  his  face  was  crimson.  And 
then,  with  a  little  cry  of  alarm,  she  flew  to 
his  side,  and  put  her  arms  around  him. 

"  Keep  away,  keep  away,  for  Heaven's  sake, 
Mistress  Blossom,"  he  said  quickly,  "or  I 
shall  plunge  you  into  my  mishap,  and  make 
you  as  ridiculous  as  myself." 

But  the  quick-witted  girl  had  already  leaped 
to  an  adjacent  bowlder.  "Take  off  your 
sash,"  she  said  quickly;  "fasten  it  to  your 
belt,  and  throw  it  to  me."  He  did  so.  She 
straightened  herself  back  on  the  rock.  "  Now, 
all  together,"  she  cried,  with  a  preliminary 
strain  on  the  sash ;  and  then  the  cords  of  her 
well-trained  muscles  stood  out  on  her  rounded 
arms,  and,  with  a  long  pull  and  a  strong  pull 
and  a  pull  all  together,  she  landed  the  major 
upon  the  rock.  And  then  she  laughed  ;  and 


THANKFUL  BLOSSOM.  137 

then,  inconsistent  as  it  may  appear,  she  be 
came  grave,  and  at  once  proceeded  to  scrape 
him  off,  and  rub  him  down  with  dried  leaves, 
with  fern-twigs,  with  her  handkerchief,  with 
the  border  of  her  mantle,  as  if  he  were  a 
child,  until  he  blushed  with  alternate  shame 
and  secret  satisfaction. 

They  spoke  but  little  on  their  return  to  the 
farm-house,  for  Mistress  Thankful  had  again 
become  grave.  And  yet  the  sun  shone 
cheerily  above  them  ;  the  landscape  was  filled 
with  the  joy  of  resurrection  and  new  and 
awakened  life ;  the  breeze  whispered  gentle 
promises  of  hope,  and  the  fruition  cf  their 
hopes  in  the  summer  to  come.  And  these 
two  fared  on  until  they  reached  the  porch, 
with  a  half-pleased,  half-frightened  conscious 
ness  that  they  were  not  the  same  beings  who 
had  left  it  a  half-hour  before. 

Nevertheless  at  the  porch  Mistress  Thank- 


138  THANKFUL   BLOSSOM. 

ful  regained  something  of  her  old  audacity. 
As  they  stood  together  in  the  hall,  she  handed 
him  back  the  sash  she  had  kept  with  her. 
As  she  did  so,  she  could  not  help  saying, 
"  There  are  some  things  worth  stooping  for, 
Major  Van  Zandt" 

But  she  had  not  calculated  upon  the  auda 
city  of  the  man ;  and  as  she  turned  to  fly  she 
was  caught  by  his  strong  arm,  and  pinioned  to 
his  side.  She  struggled,  honestly  I  think,  and 
perhaps  more  frightened  at  her  own  feelings 
than  at  his  strength  ;  but  it  is  to  be  recorded 
that  he  kissed  her  in  a  moment  of  compara 
tive  yielding,  and  then,  frightened  himself, 
released  her  quickly,  whereat  she  fled  to  her 
room,  and  threw  herself  panting  and  troubled 
upon  her  bed.  For  an  hour  or  two  she  lay 
there,  with  flushed  cheeks  and  conflicting 
thoughts.  "  He  must  never  kiss  me  again," 
she  said  softly  to  herself,  "unless"  —  but  the 


THANKFUL   BLOSSOM.  139 

interrupting  thought  said,  "  I  shall  die  if  he 
kiss  me  not  again ;  and  I  never  can  kiss 
another."  And  then  she  was  roused  by  a 
footstep  upon  the  stair,,  which  in  that  brief 
time  she  had  learned  to  know  and  look  for, 
and  a  knock  at  the  door.  She  opened  it  to 
Major  Van  Zandt,  white  and  so  colorless  as 
to  bring  out  once  more  the  faint  red  line 
made  by  her  riding-whip  two  days  before,  as 
if  it  had  risen  again  in  accusation.  The 
blood  dropped  out  of  her  cheeks  as  she  gazed 
at  him  in  silence. 

"An  escort  of  dragoons,"  said  Major  Van 
Zandt  slowly,  and  with  military  precision, 
"  has  just  arrived,  bringing  with  them  one 
Capt.  Allan  Brewstcr,  of  the  Connecticut 
Contingent,  on  his  way  to  Morristown  to  be 
tried  for  mutiny  and  treason.  A  private  note 
from  Col.  Hamilton  instructs  me  to  allow  him 
to  have  a  private  audience  with  you  —  if  you 
so  wish  it." 


I4O  THANKFUL  BLOSSOM. 

With  a  woman's  swift  and  too  often  hope 
less  intuition,  Thankful  knew  that  this  was 
not  the  sole  contents  of  the  letter,  and  that 
her  relations  with  Capt.  Brewster  were  known 
to  the  man  before  her.  But  she  drew  her 
self  up  a  little  proudly,  and,  turning  her 
truthful  eyes  upon  the  major,  said,  "  I  do  so 
wish  it." 

"  It  shall  be  done  as  you  desire,  Mistress 
Blossom,"  returned  the  officer  with  cold 
politeness,  as  he  turned  upon  his  heel. 

"  One  moment,  Major  Van  Zandt,"  said 
Thankful  swiftly. 

The  major  turned  quickly ;  but  Thankful' s 
eyes  were  gazing  thoughtfully  forward,  and 
scarcely  glanced  at  him.  "  I  would  prefer," 
she  said  timidly  and  hesitatingly,  "  that  this 
interview  should  not  take  place  under  the 
roof  where  —  where  —  where  —  my  father 
lives.  Half-way  down  the  meadow  there 


THANKFUL  BLOSSOM.  14! 

is  a  barn,  and  before  it  a  broken  part  of 
the  wall,  fronting  on  a  sycamore-tree.  He 
will  know  where  it  is.  Tell  him  I  will  see 
him  there  in  half  an  hour." 

A  smile,  which  the  major  had  tried  to 
make  a  careless  one,  curled  his  lip  satiri 
cally  as  he  bowed  in  reply.  "It  is  the  first 
time,"  he  said  dryly,  "  that  I  believe  I  have 
been  honored  with  arranging  a  tryst  for  two 
lovers  ;  but  believe  me,  Mistress  Thankful,  I 
will  do  my  best.  In  half  an  hour  I  will  turn 
my  prisoner  over  to  you." 

In  half  an  hour  the  punctual  Mistress 
Thankful,  with  a  hood  hiding  her  pale  face, 
passed  the  officer  in  the  hall,  on  the  way  to 
her  rendezvous.  An  hour  later  Caesar  came 
with  a  message  that  Mistress  Thankful 
would  like  to  see  him.  When  the  major 
entered  the  sitting-room,  he  was  shocked  to 
find  her  lying  pale  and  motionless  on  the 


142  THANKFUL  BLOSSOM. 

sofa ;  but  as  the  door  closed  she  rose  to  her 
feet,  and  confronted  him. 

"  I  do  not  know,"  she  said  slowly, 
"  whether  you  are  aware  that  the  man  I 
just  now  parted  from  was  for  a  twelve 
month  past  my  sweetheart,  and  that  I 
believed  I  loved  him,  and  knew  I  was  true 
to  him.  If  you  have  not  heard  it,  I  tell 
you  now,  for  the  time  will  come  when  you 
will  hear  part  of  it  from  the  lips  of  oth 
ers,  and  I  would  rather  you  should  take  the 
whole  truth  from  mine.  This  man  was  false 
to  me.  He  betrayed  two  friends  of  mine  as 
spies.  I  could  have  forgiven  it,  had  it  been 
only  foolish  jealousy  ;  but  it  was,  I  have  since 
learned  from  his  own  lips,  only  that  he  might 
gratify  his  spite  against  the  commander-in- 
chief  by  procuring  their  arrest,  and  making  a 
serious  difficulty  in  the  American  camp,  by 
means  of  which  he  hoped  to  serve  his  own 


THANKFUL  BLOSSOM.  143 

ends.  He  told  me  this,  believing  that  I  sym 
pathized  with  him  in  his  hatred  of  the  com- 
mander-in-chief,  and  in  his  own  wrongs  and 
sufferings.  I  confess  to  my  shame,  Major 
Van  Zandt,  that  two  days  ago  I  did  believe 
him,  and  that  I  looked  upon  you  as  a  mere 
catch-poll  or  bailiff  of  the  tyrant.  That  I 
found  out  how  I  was  deceived  when  I  saw 
the  commander  -  in  -  chief,  you,  major,  who 
know  him  so  well,  need  not  be  told.  Nor 
was  it  necessary  for  me  to  tell  this  man 
that  he  had  deceived  me  ;  for  I  felt  that  — 
that  —  was  —  not  —  the  —  only  reason  —  why 
I  could  no  longer  return  —  his  love." 

She  paused,  as  the  major  approached  her 
earnestly,  and  waved  him  back  with  her 
hand.  "  He  reproached  me  bitterly  with 
my  want  of  feeling  for  his  misfortunes," 
she  went  on  again :  "  he  recalled  my  past 
protestations ;  he  showed  me  my  love-letters  ; 


144  THANKFUL  BLOSSOM. 

and  he  told  me  that  if  I  were  still  his  true 
sweetheart  I  ought  to  help  him.  I  told  him 
if  he  would  never  call  me  by  that  name 
again ;  if  he  would  give  up  all  claim  to  me  ; 
if  he  would  never  speak,  write  to  me,  nor  see 
me  again  ;  if  he  would  hand  me  back  my  let 
ters,  —  I  would  help  him."  She  stopped  :  the 
blood  rushed  into  her  pale  face.  "You  will 
remember,  major,  that  I  accepted  this  man's 
love  as  a  young,  foolish,  trustful  girl  ;  but 
when  I  made  him  this  offer  —  he  —  he 
accepted  it." 

"  The  dog  !  "  said  Major  Van  Zandt.  "  But 
in  what  way  could  you  help  this  double 
traitor  ? " 

<;  I  have  helped  him,"  said  Thankful 
quietly. 

"  But  how  ?  "  said  Major  Van  Zandt. 

"  By  becoming  a  traitor  myself,"  she  said, 
turning  upon  him  almost  fiercely.  "  Hear 


THANKFUL  BLOSSOM.  145 

me  !  While  you  were  quietly  pacing  these 
halls,  while  your  men  were  laughing  and 
talking  in  the  road,  Caesar  was  saddling  my 
white  mare,  the  fleetest  in  the  country.  He 
led  her  to  the  lane  below.  That  mare  is  now 
two  miles  away,  with  Capt.  Brewster  on  her 
back.  Why  do  you  not  start,  major  ?  Look 
at  me.  /  am  a  traitor,  and  this  is  my  bribe  ;  " 
and  she  drew  a  package  of  letters  from  her 
bosom,  and  flung  them  on  the  table. 

She  had  been  prepared  for  an  outbreak  or 
exclamation  from  the  man  before  her,  but  not 
for  his  cold  silence.  "  Speak,"  she  cried  at 
last,  passionately.  "  Speak  !  Open  your  lips, 
if  only  to  curse  me  !  Order  in  your  men  to 
arrest  me.  I  will  proclaim  myself  guilty,  and 
save  your  honor.  But  only  speak  !  " 

"  May  I  ask,"  said  Major  Van  Zandt 
coldly,  "  why  you  have  twice  honored  me 
with  a  blow  ?  " 


146  THANKFUL  BLOSSOM. 

"  Because  I  loved  you ;  .because,  when  I 
first  saw  you  I  saw  the  only  man  that  was 
my  master,  and  I  rebelled  ;  because,  when  I 
found  I  could  not  help  but  love  you,  I  knew  I 
never  had  loved  before,  and  I  would  wipe  out 
with  one  stroke  all  the  past  that  rose  in  judg 
ment  against  me ;  because  I  would  not  have 
you  ever  confronted  with  one  endearing  word 
of  mine  that  was  not  meant  for  you." 

Major  Van  Zandt  turned  from  the  window 
where  he  had  stood,  and  faced  the  girl  with 
sad  resignation.  "  If  I  have  in  my  foolish 
ness,  Mistress  Thankful,  shown  you  how 
great  was  your  power  over  me,  when  you 
descended  to  this  artifice  to  spare  my  feel 
ings  by  confessing  your  own  love  for  me,  you 
should  have  remembered  that  you  were  doing 
that  which  forever  kept  me  from  wooing  or 
winning  you.  If  you  had  really  loved  me, 
your  heart,  as  a  woman's,  would  have  warned 


THANKFUL  BLOSSOM.  147 

you  against  that  which  my  heart,  as  a  gentle 
man's,  has  made  a  law  of  honor  ;  when  I 
tell  you,  as  much  for  the  sake  of  relieving 
your  own  conscience  as  for  the  sake  of  jus 
tifying  mine,  that  if  this  man,  a  traitor,  my 
prisoner,  and  your  recognized  lover,  had  es 
caped  from  my  custody  without  your  assist 
ance,  connivance,  or  even  knowledge,  I 
should  have  deemed  it  my  duty  to  forsake 
you  until  I  caught  him,  even  if  we  had  been 
standing  before  the  altar." 

Thankful  heard  him,  but  only  as  a  strange 
voice  in  the  distance,  as  she  stood  with  fixed 
eyes,  and  breathless,  parted  lips  before  him. 
Yet  even  then  I  fear  that,  womanlike,  she  did 
not  comprehend  his  rhetoric  of  honor,  but 
only  caught  here  and  there  a  dull,  benumbing 
idea  that  he  despised  her,  and  that  in  her 
effort  to  win  his  love  she  had  killed  it,  and 
ruined  him  forever. 


148  THANKFUL  BLOSSOM. 

"  If  you  think  it  strange,"  continued  the 
major,  "that,  believing  as  I  do,  I  stand  here 
only  to  utter  moral  axioms  when  my  duty 
calls  me  to  pursue  your  lover,  I  beg  you  to 
believe  that  it  is  only  for  your  sake.  I  wish 
to  allow  a  reasonable  time  between  your 
interview  with  him,  and  his  escape,  that  shall 
save  you  from  any  suspicion  of  complicity. 
Do  not  think,"  he  added  with  a  sad  smile,  as 
the  girl  made  an  impatient  step  toward  him, 
"  do  not  think  I  am  running  any  risk.  The 
man  cannot  escape.  A  cordon  of  pickets 
surrounds  the  camp  for  many  miles.  He 
has  not  the  countersign,  and  his  face  and 
crime  are  known." 

"  Yes,"  said  Thankful  eagerly,  "  but  a  part 
of  his  own  regiment  guards  the  Baskingridge 
road." 

"  How  know  you  this  ? "  said  the  major, 
seizing  her  hand. 


THANKFUL  BLOSSOM.  149 

"  He  told  me." 

Before  she  could  fall-  on  her  knees,  and  beg 
his  forgiveness,  he  had  darted  from  the  room, 
given  an  order,  and  returned  with  cheeks  and 
eyes  blazing. 

"  Hear  me,"  he  said  rapidly,  taking  the 
girl's  two  hands,  "  you  know  not  what  you've 
done.  I  forgive  you.  But  this  is  no  longer 
a  matter  of  duty,  but  my  personal  honor.  I 
shall -pursue  this  man  alone.  I  shall  return 
with  him,  or  not  at  all.  Farewell.  God 
bless  you ! " 

But  before  he  reached  the  door  she  caught 
him  again.  "  Only  say  you  have  forgiven  me 
once  more." 

"  I  do." 
.    "Guert!" 

There  was  something  in  the  girl's  voice, 
more  than  this  first  utterance  of  his  Christian 
name,  that  made  him  pause. 


ISO  THANKFUL  BLOSSOM. 

"  I  told  —  a  —  lie  —  just  —  now.  There  is 
a  fleeter  horse  in  the  stable  than  my  mare ; 
'tis  the  roan  filly  in  the  second  stall." 

"God  bless  you!" 

He  was  gone.  She  waited  to  hear  the 
clatter  of  his  horse's  hoofs  in  the  roadway. 
When  Caesar  came  in  a  few  moments  later, 
to  tell  the  news  of  Capt.  Brewster's  escape, 
the  room  was  empty ;  but  it  was  soon  filled 
again  by  a  dozen  turbulent  troopers. 

"  Of  course  she's  gone,"  said  Sergeant 
Tibbitts  :  "  the  jade  flew  with  the  captain." 

"  Ay,  'tis  plain  enough.  Two  horses  are 
gone  from  the  stable  besides  the  major's," 
said  Private  Hicks. 

Nor  was  this  military  criticism  entirely  a 
private  one.  When  the  courier  arrived  at 
headquarters  the  next  morning,  it  was  to 
bring  the  report  that  Mistress  Thankful 
Blossom,  after  assisting  her  lover  to  escape, 


THANKFUL  BLOSSOM. 


had  fled  with  him.  "The  renegade  is  well 
off  our  hands,"  said  Gen.  Sullivan  gruffly  : 
"he  has  saved  us  the  public  disgrace  of  a 
trial.  But  this  is  bad  news  of  Major  Van 
Zandt." 

"  What  news  of  the  major  ?  "  asked  Wash 
ington  quickly. 

"  He  pursued  the  vagabond  as  far  as 
Springfield,  killing  his  horse,  and  falling 
himself  insensible  before  Major  Merton's 
quarters.  Here  he  became  speedily  deliri 
ous,  fever  supervened,  and  the  regimental 
surgeon,  after  a  careful  examination,  pro 
nounced  his  case  one  of  small-pox." 

A  whisper  of  horror  and  pity  went  around 
the  room.  "Another  gallant  soldier,  who 
should  have  died  leading  a  charge,  laid  by  the 
heels  by  a  beggar's  filthy  distemper,"  growled 
Sullivan.  "  Where  will  it  end  ?  " 

"  God  knows,"  said  Hamilton.     "  Poor  Van 


152  THANKFUL  BLOSSOM. 

Zandt !     But  whither  was  he   sent,  —  to  the 
hospital?" 

"  No :  a  special  permit  was  granted  in  his 
case;  and  'tis  said  he  was  removed  to  the 
Blossom  Farm,  —  it  being  remote  from  neigh 
bors, —  and  the  house  placed  under  quar 
antine.  Abner  Blossom  has  prudently 
absented  himself  from  the  chances  of  infec 
tion,  and  the  daughter  has  fled.  The  sick 
man  is  attended  only  by  a  black  servant  and 
an  ancient  crone  ;  so  that,  if  the  poor  major 
escapes  with  his  life  or  without  disfigure 
ment,  pretty  Mistress  Bolton  of  Morristown 
need  not  be  scandalized  or  jealous." 


PART  V. 


V. 

THE  ancient  crone  alluded  to  in  the  last 
chapter  had  been  standing  behind  the 
window-curtains  of  that  bedroom  which  had 
been  Thankful  Blossom's  in  the  weeks  gone 
by.  She  did  not  move  her  head,  but  stood 
looking  demurely,  after  the  manner  of  ancient 
crones,  over  the  summer  landscape.  For  the 
summer  had  come  before  the*  tardy  spring 
was  scarce  gone,  and  the  elms  before  the  win 
dow  no  longer  lisped,  but  were  eloquent  in 
the  softest  zephyrs.  There  was  the  flash  of 
birds  in  among  the  bushes,  the  occasional 
droning  of  bees  in  and  out  the  open  window, 
and  a  perpetually  swinging  censer  of  flower- 


156  THANKFUL  BLOSSOM. 

incense  rising  from  below.  The  farm  had 
put  on  its  gayest  bridal  raiment ;  and,  looking 
at  the  old  farm-house  shadowed  with  foliage 
and  green  with  creeping  vines,  it  was  difficult 
to  conceive  that  snow  had  ever  lain  on  its 
porches,  or  icicles  swung  from  its  mossy 
eaves. 

"  Thankful !  "  said  a  voice  still  tremulous 
with  weakness. 

The  ancient  crone  turned,  drew  aside  the 
curtains,  and  showed  the  sweet  face  of 
Thankful  Blossom,  more  beautiful  even  in 
its  paleness. 

"  Come  here,  darling,"  repeated  the  voice. 

Thankful  stepped  to  the  sofa  whereon  lay 
the  convalescent  Major  Van  Zandt. 

"  Tell  me,  sweetheart,"  said  the  major, 
taking  her  hand  in  his,  "when  you  married 
me,  as  you  told  the  chaplain,  that  you  might 
have  the  right  to  nurse  me,  did  you  never 


THANKFUL  BLOSSOM.  157 

think  that  if  death  spared  me  I  might  be  so 
disfigured  that  even  you,  dear  love,  would 
have  turned  from  me  with  loathing  ?  " 

"  That  was  why  I  did  it,  dear,"  said 
Thankful  mischievously.  "  I  know  that  the 
pride,  and  the  sense  of  honor,  and  self- 
devotion  of  some  people,  would  have  kept 
them  from  keeping  their  promises  to  a  poor 
girl." 

"  But,  darling,"  continued  the  major,  raising 
her  hand  to  his  lips,  "  suppose  the  case  had 
been  reversed:  suppose  you  had  taken  the 
disease,  that  I  had  recovered  without  dis 
figurement,  but  that  this  sweet  face  "  — 

"I  thought  of  that  too,"  interrupted 
Thankful. 

"  Well,  what  would  you  have  done,  dear  ?  " 
said  the  major,  with  his  old  mischievous 
smile. 

"  I  should  have  died,"  said  Thankful 
gravely. 


158  THANKFUL  BLOSSOM. 

11  But  how  ?  " 

"  Somehow.  But  you  are  to  go  to  sleep, 
and  not  ask  impertinent  and  frivolous  ques 
tions  ;  for  father  is  coming  to-morrow." 

"Thankful,  dear,  do  you  know  what  the 
trees  and  the  birds  said  to  me  as  I  lay  there 
tossing  with  fever  ?  " 

"No,  dear." 

"  Thankful  Blossom  !  Thankful  Blossom  ! 
Thankful  Blossom  is  coming  !  " 

"  Do  you  know  what  I  said,  sweetheart,  as 
I  lifted  your  dear  head  from  the  ground  when 
you  reeled  from  your  horse  just  as  I  overtook 
you  at  Springfield  ?  " 

"  No,  dear." 

"There  are  some  things  in  life  worth 
stooping  for." 

And  she  winged  this  Parthian  arrow  home 
with  a  kiss. 


